Purdy at the 2022 WonderCon

Kate Purdy is an American writer and producer of television series. She grew up in San Antonio,Texas, United States. She is known for her work as a writer on the Netflix adult animated comedy series BoJack Horseman, which she also produced. She received the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation in 2017 for the BoJack episode "Time's Arrow." Purdy is also the creator and writer of the Amazon Prime Video series Undone.

Personal life

Purdy grew up in San Antonio, Texas.[1] Her father was a Spanish teacher and the family lived for several years in Guadalajara, Mexico.[2] In 2012, Purdy became depressed and suffered anxiety whilst working as a writer on the Cougar Town television series. She became concerned that she might have schizophrenia since her grandmother and two grand-uncles had schizophrenia.[3] After trying various treatments, Purdy finally found benefits in indigenous and Ayurvedic medicines.[1][3] She graduated from Wesleyan University in 2001.

Career

Purdy began her career in television writing for shows such as Cold Case and Mad TV in the mid-2000s.[4]

Between 2014 and 2018, Purdy wrote five episodes for BoJack Horseman, the acclaimed adult animated comedy series screened on Netflix. Purdy received the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation in 2017 for the BoJack episode "Time's Arrow."[5] She was also one of the producers of the show.[6]

Purdy co-created a new animated television series called Undone in 2019, with her BoJack Horseman collaborator Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The eight half hour episodes were screened on Amazon Prime Video. Undone was Amazon's first original animated series and was made using the rotoscoping technique.[7] Purdy drew upon her own experiences of mental illness in plotting the themes of the show.[8]

In late 2019, Amazon announced that Undone had been renewed for a second season and that Purdy had signed an exclusive deal. No details of the latter agreement were released.[9]

Selected productions

Year Title Role
2019–2022 Undone Co-creator, writer, executive producer
2014–2018 BoJack Horseman Writer, producer
2014–2015 The McCarthys Writer, producer
2014 Enlisted Writer, producer
2010–2012 Cougar Town Writer, story editor

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b Nelson, Kelly Merka. "Animating the Alamo City: Amazon Studios' Undone Co-Creator and San Antonio Native Kate Purdy Delves into the Show's Roots". San Antonio Current. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  2. ^ Chavez, Danette (17 September 2019). "BoJack Horseman's Kate Purdy on inclusivity and ambiguity in her animated show Undone". AV Club. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b Baer, Matt; Chuba, Kirsten; Hardge, Falen (16 January 2020). ""I Didn't Know What Was Happening to Me": Hollywood Pros Share Stories of Overcoming Depression and Anxiety". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Kate Purdy". IMDb. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  5. ^ Swertlow, Meg (11 February 2018). "2018 Writers Guild Awards: The Complete List of Winners". E! News. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (13 September 2019). "The Creators of Bojack Horseman on Pushing the Limits of Adult Animation Even Further With Undone". Time. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. ^ Hardawar, Devindra. "Amazon's 'Undone' takes rotoscope animation to new heights". Engadget. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  8. ^ Rollins, Samantha (17 September 2019). "How The Creator Of 'Undone' Turned Her Mental Break Into A Healing TV Series". Bustle. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  9. ^ Kanter, Jake (21 November 2019). "'Undone' Renewed For Season 2 By Amazon As Co-Creator Kate Purdy Inks Overall Deal". Deadline. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
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