Katja Blichfeld facts for kids

Katja Blichfeld (born in 1979) is an American writer, director, and producer. She is also a casting director. She is best known for creating and directing High Maintenance. This show started as a Vimeo web series and later became an HBO television series. Katja won a Primetime Emmy award for her amazing work. She won for Outstanding Casting on a Comedy Series for 30 Rock.

Early Life and Education

Katja Blichfeld was born in Long Beach, California in 1979. She grew up in a Christian home. She went to Christian schools until she graduated. Her parents are from Denmark. They moved to the United States in 1970.

Katja briefly attended Long Beach City College. She then left college and moved to Chicago. In 2004, she moved to New York. She wanted to start a career in casting there.

Career Highlights

In 2005, Katja Blichfeld started her casting career. She was an assistant on Comedy Central's Roast of Jeff Foxworthy. The next year, she worked on the movie Freedomland. In 2010, she started working in TV. She became a casting director for NBC’s 30 Rock. She won an Emmy in 2013 for her work on 30 Rock. She was also nominated for two more Emmys in 2010 and 2011.

Katja Blichfeld is the co-creator and director of High Maintenance. This show was first on Vimeo and then on HBO. Katja and her co-creator, Ben Sinclair, started the show as a fun project. They wrote almost all of the first 19 webisodes. They made each episode for less than $1,000. Later, HBO picked up the show. Before meeting Ben, Katja had never written or directed professionally.

Personal Journey

In 2009, Katja Blichfeld met Ben Sinclair. He was an actor. They met at a barbecue in Los Angeles. They started writing together just days after becoming a couple. They moved in together within months. In 2010, they got married. They thought of the idea for High Maintenance while riding bikes. This was on the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City. They launched the show together in 2012.

Their marriage later ended. But they kept working together on High Maintenance. They made three more seasons of the show. In 2021, it was announced that the show would take a break.

Katja has shared her experiences with anxiety and depression. A few years into making High Maintenance, Katja sought help. She started therapy and took antidepressants. After some personal discoveries, her struggles with anxiety began to get better. She no longer takes antidepressants. However, she still goes to therapy regularly.

Filmography

Awards and Recognitions

At the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards, Katja Blichfeld was nominated. She was nominated with Jennifer McNamara. They were recognized for Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series for 30 Rock. They were nominated again in 2011. Finally, they won the award in 2013.

Katja Blichfeld received the first Creator Achievement Award from Stareable Fest in 2020. She won this award for creating High Maintenance.