Kater Gordon

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?

Last month, Mad Men was celebrating winning a slew of Emmys. One of them was for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, the episode entitled "Meditations In An Emergency." When creator Matthew Weiner went onto the stage to grab the Emmy, with him was Kater Gordon, the co-writer of that episode. Today, Kater Gordon was let go from Mad Men.

Are you shocked? Apparently, the industry press is. Gordon had risen from personal assistant to writer's assistant to member of the writing staff. After the Emmy, you would think that she was in like Flynn.

However, something must have gone awry or why has she been given her walking papers? And if you think it's not a dismissal, listen to this announcement from the show: