Win an Emmy, Then Get Fired

Posted on October 16, 2009

Kater Gordon, the writer's assistant turned writer, won an Emmy for the last episode of last season's Mad Men. She was like the show's own Peggy Olson, the girl who rose through the ranks to win an Emmy. So then why was she fired by Matt Weiner the show's creator and the man who was forced to share an Emmy with her? Nikki Finke had some nonsense about how Matt liked to encourage young writers and that he felt she had gone as far as she could and it was time for new writers. Others told her Kater quit before she could be fired.

A source tells me: "It was at the very worst mutual. She needed to move on and see how she would do after leaving the nest. Matt is a genius, and he gave lots of people an opportunity, but never let's anyone forget it. I'm sure he'd never tell anyone she quit, because that is a rejection of him. Anyway, they are friends and made a mutual decision."
A show insider replies, "There are staffing changes every season. It is the nature of television shows to fine tune. Why is it news this season?"

What a load of nonsense. No one fires a screenwriter who just penned an Emmy-winning episode unless there is something else going on. Of course, they shared the writing credit so there's no way to know how much of that episode she really wrote. But it's still most peculiar.

We hope she finds a new show quickly, because she clearly has the talent.