On Sunday, “Mad Men” returns for its seventh season, with a host of questions to be answered and story lines to wrap up in its final 14 episodes.
The AMC period drama is subtler than many on TV, but that doesn’t mean it can’t deliver a shock when it wants to — as it has with numerous mergers and breakups, engagements and extramarital dalliances over the years.
“Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner is notoriously tight-lipped about upcoming seasons, but with the cast entering the end of the Swinging ’60s and our anti-hero Don Draper (Jon Hamm) still struggling with his identity, we’re betting on more shocking moments to come.
So in honor of the Season 7 premiere, here’s our list of the top shockers from the past six seasons.
Peggy gives birth to Pete’s baby (Season 1)
As Don Draper’s secretary at the start of the series, Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) draws the attention of (engaged) junior accounts manager Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) and the two have sex the night of his bachelor party. Peggy begins to gain weight throughout the season, but doesn’t realize she’s pregnant until going to the hospital for severe stomach pains (the day she is promoted to junior copywriter). She delivers the baby but refuses to hold it and immediately gives it up for adoption.
Don & Co. leave Sterling Cooper (Season 3)
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When Don finds out that Sterling Cooper, bought out by London firm Putnam, Powell and Lowe at the end of season 2, is being sold again to McCann Ericson, he convinces Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) to fire him, Roger (John Slattery) and Bert (Robert Morse) so they can start their own agency (with Lane receiving a partnership). They recruit Peggy, Pete, Joan (Christina Hendricks) and Harry (Rich Sommer) to the new agency, now called Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Don proposes to his secretary (Season 4)
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Don takes his kids on a trip to California and asks his secretary Megan (Jessica Pare) to tag along to look after them. Over the course of the weekend, Don decides he is in love with Megan and proposes to her on a whim, and they announce their engagement to the shock of the office (and Don’s girlfriend, Faye).
Joan sleeps with a client to land an account (Season 5)
Pete learns that SCDP will land the Jaguar account if Joan sleeps with the head of the dealers’ association. The partners reluctantly vote behind Don’s back to compensate Joan for the deed with an ownership stake in the company. Don tries to stop Joan from going through with it, but he’s too late.
Lane commits suicide (Season 5)
When his Christmas bonus falls through, Lane is forced to steal from SCDP to pay off his tax debt. The partners find out and Don fires Lane — who then hangs himself in his office rather than face the shame of coming clean to his wife and returning to London.
Sally discovers Don’s affair (Season 6)
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It was only a matter of time before Don’s philandering ways caught up with him. When daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka) goes to the apartment to retrieve a letter, she catches her dad having sex with neighbor Sylvia (Linda Cardellini), and runs out of the room. The incident causes a rift in their relationship.
Don gets fired from SC&P (Season 6)
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When we last left the “Mad Men” crew, Don was forced to take an open-ended leave of absence for blowing the Hershey’s pitch with the story of his depressing childhood, removing what has been a central part of his identity for the duration of the series. What will he be without his job? What will the firm be without him? Answers (hopefully) forthcoming in the Season 7 premiere.