Katja Blichfeld
Born
Long Beach, CA, U.S.
Occupations
  • Writer
  • director
  • producer
  • casting director

Katja Blichfeld (born 1979) is an American writer, director, producer and casting director. She is known for co-creating and directing High Maintenance, a Vimeo web series and HBO television series. She won a Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Casting on a Comedy Series for her work on 30 Rock.[1]

Early Life and Education

Blichfeld was born in Long Beach, California in 1979. She was raised as an evangelical Christian and attended Christian schools until graduating.[1] Her parents are first-generation immigrants from Denmark, who moved to the United States in 1970.[2]

Blichfeld was briefly enrolled in Long Beach City College before dropping out and moving to Chicago.[1] In 2004, she moved to New York to pursue a career in casting.[3]  

Career

When Blichfeld was nine years old she wrote, filmed, and starred in a short film about the dangers of marijuana.[4]

In 2005, Blichfield began her casting career on Comedy Central's Roast of Jeff Foxworthy as an assistant. The next year, she worked as a casting associate on the mystery-thriller Freedomland.[5] In 2010, she transitioned from film to TV by joining Jennifer McNamara as a casting director for NBC’s 30 Rock.[1] She won an Emmy in 2013 and was nominated for two more in 2010 and 2011 for her work on 30 Rock.[6]

Blichfeld is the co-creator and director of the Vimeo and HBO television series High Maintenance. Blichfeld and her co-creator, Ben Sinclair, initially started the show as a passion project.[7] The pair were the sole writers of 19 webisodes, which they produced for less than $1,000 apiece before it was picked up by HBO.[4] Prior to meeting Sinclair, Blichfeld had never professionally written or directed.[3]

She is currently co-writing a screenplay with her girlfriend, Adele.[3]

Personal life

In 2009, Blichfeld met aspiring actor Ben Sinclair at a barbecue in Los Angeles.[8] They began writing together only days after becoming a couple and moved in together in the span of months.[2] In 2010, the pair married.[4] While on a bike ride across the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, the couple devised the idea for High Maintenance.[2] They launched the show together in 2012.

The couple separated in 2016 following Blichfeld's admission of infidelity with a woman.[2] Their divorce was finalised prior to the commencement of season two of High Maintenance.[4] The pair continued to collaborate on three more seasons of High Maintenance, until the 2021 announcement of the show's indefinite hiatus.[9]

At 37, Blichfeld came out as a lesbian and began to openly date women. She met her current partner, Adele, while on a date with another woman in 2017.[1] They now live together.[3]

Blichfeld has been open about her struggles with anxiety and depression. A few years into High Maintenance's production, Blichfeld sought therapy and began taking antidepressants.[2] Following her coming out, Blichfeld’s struggles with anxiety began to subside. She no longer takes antidepressants, but still regularly goes to therapy.[2]

Filmography

Year Title Role Media
2005 Comedy Central Roast of Jeff Foxworthy Casting Assistant TV Special
2006 Freedomland Casting Associate Movie
2007 Conviction Casting Associate TV Series
2008 Kath & Kim Casting Coordinator TV Series
2009 Warehouse 13 Casting Department TV Episode
2010 - 2013 30 Rock Casting Director TV Series
2012 - 2020 High Maintenance Creator, Writer, Director, Producer Web Show/TV Series
2015 Nasty Baby Casting Director Movie

Awards and Nominations

At the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards, Blichfeld was nominated alongside Jennifer McNamara for Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series for their work on 30 Rock. They were nominated for the same award in 2011 before finally winning in the same category in 2013.[6]

Blichfeld was awarded Stareable Fest's inaugural Creator Achievement Award in 2020 for creating High Maintenance.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Gould, Emily (January 2018). "Katja Blichfeld Gets What She Wants". New York. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Blichfeld, Katja; Mechling, Lauren (11 January 2018). "How Coming Out Made Me Whole: High Maintenance's Katja Blichfeld Tells Her Story". Vogue.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Gossamer | Katja Blichfeld". Gossamer. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Frank, Priscilla (February 23, 2018). "How Katja Blichfeld Went from Anxious 'Super Christian' to Queer Stoner Icon". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Katja Blichfeld | Director, Writer, Producer". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  6. 1 2 "30 Rock". Television Academy. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  7. ↑ "High Maintenance Turns 10: An Oral History of the HBO Dramedy". 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  8. ↑ Sonia, Saraiya (2019-01-18). "As Season 3 Debuts, High Maintenance Contends with the Harshest Buzzkill of All: Success". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  9. ↑ Petski, Denise (2021-01-15). "'High Maintenance' Not Returning For Season 5 At HBO". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  10. ↑ Stareable. "Katja Blichfeld Honored with Inaugural Creator Achievement Award at Stareable Fest 2020 and Well-Known Industry Speakers Officially Announced". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
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