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Emmy-winning writer Kater Gordon departs Mad Men

posted by Women & Hollywood
Monday, October 12, 2009 at 2:25pm CDT

Something’s fishy over at Sterling Cooper.

It’s not too often that a newly minted Emmy winner leaves the show that earned her an Emmy, but that’s what seems to have happened to Kater Gordon. Nikki Finke reported on Deadline Hollywood yesterday that Gordon has departed the show. It’s not clear whether she was fired or quit, but in general people don’t leave hit shows and double that in this economy.

Kater held the title of staff writer which is the entry level position in the writer’s room. According to reports she first started out as Matthew Weiner’s (the show’s creator and executive producer) personal assistant. She was then made a writer’s assistant, and then got her a big break when Weiner tapped her to co-write the last year’s season finale. Matthew Weiner is no idiot. I’m sure he knew the woman could write even if she got the gig unconventionally. Do you think this man would sacrifice his show and hire someone to co-write an episode who couldn’t write? I don’t think so.

Now she has an Emmy and no job. Some people on the Deadline Hollywood message board are saying she got her writing gig by sleeping with Weiner. That’s insulting, demeaning and degrading to all women writers who have worked hard to be taken seriously. They never say the same stuff about male writers, but when a young woman gets a break, she has to have earned it through sex.

I’m still torn about Matthew Weiner. On the one hand he’s involved with this project I have become familiar with called the Good Men Project which is about men trying to be better dads and men in our culture. On the other hand, even though the writer’s room at Mad Men is populated by women we’ve already explored that they don’t hold high level positions. Maybe the Emmy win pissed off Weiner? Maybe Gordon wanted a promotion? Maybe she got another gig?

There are a lot of maybes in this story and nobody has the real answer. All I know is that is looks horrible for the show that a young, successful female writer is now out of a job just a couple of weeks after getting the most coveted award in television. It makes no fucking sense. I wish Kater Gordon the best of luck and hope she gets a great next gig.