Mad Men
Don Draper's marriage, family and career are all in limbo at the start of "Mad Men" Season 7. Frank Ockenfels/AMC

Even in times of intense personal strife, Don Draper has always managed to find refuge in his career as one of the New York advertising scene’s creative direction. But Jon Hamm, the star of AMC’s “Mad Men,” hinted that Draper’s various transgressions in Season 6 may prevent him from returning to work at Sterling Cooper & Partners in the show’s final season.

During the Season 6 finale of “Mad Men,” Roger Sterling, Bert Cooper and the rest of SC&P’s board of directors essentially forced Draper into taking a leave of absence; his drinking and erratic behavior had started to affect the firm’s business, and even Draper’s “friends” within the company were tired of defending him. During an interview with TV Guide, Hamm said that his character will feel the weight of his mistakes in Season 7.

“[Don’s] screwed up the marriage, he’s screwed up the kids. He always [knew] that at least he was good at his job, and now he doesn’t even have that,” Hamm told TV Guide. While writer Natalie Abrams said that Draper “will find other creative outlets” in Season 7, it will be hard for him to reconcile the loss, albeit temporary, of the power and prestige afforded by being the creative director at a prominent New York City ad agency.

Hamm’s comments also hint at the status of Draper’s rocky marriage to his wife, Megan. At the end of Season 6, he told Megan that he’d be willing to relocate to California—a move that would benefit her career as an actress—only to renege on that promise. Megan was visibly furious about Draper’s change of heart, and it’s likely that the tension will carry over into this season.

Draper has also been cheating on his wife with Sylvia Rosen, his neighbor and the wife of his friend, Arnold Rosen. Worse yet, Don’s daughter, Sally, walked in on her father in the middle of one of his sexual encounters with Sylvia. Don’s attempts to explain the situation to Sally seemed to fall on deaf ears, and he’ll likely have a lot of work to do in Season 7 if he hopes to win back his daughter’ s rapidly evaporating respect for him.

Will Don manage to fix his career, his marriage and his family this season? Tune in to the season premiere of “Mad Men” on Sunday, April 13 at 10 p.m. EDT on AMC.