KateMcDermott
- Writer
Since starting her scriptwriting career on Shortland Street in 1997, Kate McDermott has worked on everything from Being Eve and Mercy Peak to the first five seasons of Go Girls. She also created chaotic family comedy Step Dave. Along the way she has brought her touch for black comedy to Outrageous Fortune and multi award-winning short This is Her.
Screenography
Biography
At Auckland University Kate McDermott dreamt of being a playwright. Often though, she found herself reading course texts and imagining how they might work on screen.
McDermott studied English literature and history. But after graduation she found herself studying the romantic lives of a group of doctors and nurses on Shortland Street. McDermott joined the show in 1997, and would work on it in a number of capacities, from storyliner to script editor. Fast turnaround television proved “crazy and fun”, partly thanks to the sheer quantity of writing needed to fill a five night a week show.
Awards
2020 New Zealand Television Awards
Nominated for Best Script - Drama (shared with James Griffin): for Westside - Season 5, Episode 10
“It starts with three writers sitting in a room laughing and sweating and crying and stressing ...”