Congrats on Your 'Mad Men' Emmy. You're Fired.

What if Don Draper suddenly fired Peggy Olson? That unlikely 'Mad Men' scenario seems to have played itself out behind the scenes of the show, where writer Kater Gordon, who won an Emmy for her work on the AMC drama just three weeks ago, has been let go from the 'Mad Men' writing staff.

Like Peggy, Gordon rose quickly to valued writer from her initial post as personal assistant to the top creative guy (in this case, series creator Matthew Weiner. She was soon promoted to writer's assistant and then to staff writer. She shared a writing credit on last season's all-important finale, which led to her sharing the Emmy podium with Weiner on Sept. 20 (pictured). And now that season 3 is in the can, the Emmy-winning rising star suddenly gets the boot? What gives?What if Don Draper suddenly fired Peggy Olson? That unlikely 'Mad Men' scenario seems to have played itself out behind the scenes of the show, where writer Kater Gordon, who won an Emmy for her work on the AMC drama just three weeks ago, has been let go from the 'Mad Men' writing staff.

Like Peggy, Gordon rose quickly to valued writer from her initial position as personal assistant to the top creative guy (in this case, series creator Matthew Weiner.) She was soon promoted to writer's assistant and then to staff writer. She co-wrote last season's all-important finale, which led her sharing the Emmy podium with Weiner on Sept. 20 (pictured). And now that season 3 is in the can, the rising star suddenly gets the boot? What gives?

Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke presented what seems to be the official explanation, e-mailed to her by an unnamed 'Mad Men' insider. After noting that Weiner typically champions and fights for opportunities for new talent, the insider wrote, "We think [Kater's] done a great job, particularly for someone whose career has progressed so quickly. Now, however, Matt has reluctantly decided that their relationship has reached its full potential. She'll be missed, but the series has consistently benefited from the influx of new writer talent, and there's absolutely no doubt that Kater will continue to have unprecedented success in her career as she spreads her wings. She leaves 'Mad Men' with our love and respect and a well-deserved Emmy."

To a lot of Finke's commenters and other industry observers, that explanation seemed awfully incomplete. Surely there must have been other issues? Did the newly-minted Emmy winner demand a raise and not get it? Was Gordon fired to placate jealous staffers? Did she get more credit than she deserved? (To date, her only solo writing credit on the show is for the Sept. 13 episode, 'The Fog,' whose dream sequence and mysterious symbolism many viewers found hazy and frustrating.)


The most salacious speculation: the David Letterman-inspired theory that her rapid rise and faster fall could both have resulted from an office romance gone sour with the married Weiner. This theory was quickly shot down, however, by an unnamed female writer who knows both Gordon and Weiner, and who e-mailed Finke: "As a female writer who has worked with many strong showrunners, I have to say that any 'Letterman' talk on today's thread about Kater Gordon really disgusts me. The same kind of talk followed me and my success. So you see, you can't win. If you're young and female, you'll always be suspect. Success or failure, it can't be because you've actually got the goods. I feel compelled to come to both Kater and Matt's defense on this one. Kater was a fantastic writer's assistant, the best. She totally got the show and deserved the break she got. There was NOTHING illicit in her relationship with Matt. I believe Kater will go on to great success, if she so desires, and their parting of the ways was amicable."

In any case, both Kater's still hard-to-explain exit from the show on the heels of her Emmy win, along with the gossipy speculation that followed, suggests that office politics may not have much since the Bad Old Days of rampant office sexism chronicled in 'Mad Men' itself. (The most apt commentary may be the clip of Peggy and Don from earlier this season that Gawker embedded at this post.) -- By Gary Susman