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Kate McLennan

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Kate McLennan
Birth nameKatherine McLennan
Born1980 (age 43–44)
Mortlake, Victoria, Australia
MediumStand-up comedian, writer, actor
NationalityAustralian
Genresobservational comedy, character comedy, parody and satire
Children1
Notable works and roles
The Katering Show
Get Krack!n

Kate McLennan (born c. 1980) is an Australian comedian, writer and actor. McLennan has performed in Australia and internationally, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She is known in Australia for her work on television and web series such as The Katering Show, Get Krack!n, The Mansion, and Deadloch (2023). She produces most of her work with Kate McCartney, which has led to their being dubbed the Kates.

Early life

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McLennan was born around 1980.[1] She moved to Geelong at the age of ten and a decade later she moved to Melbourne.[2]

Career

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McLennan performed in her first sketch comedy show at the age of 21 at the 2001 Melbourne Fringe Festival, and appeared in the Fringe parade.[2]

She rose to fame writing and performing her solo comedy show The Debutante Diaries, which won her the Best Comedy Award and Best Emerging Artist Award at the Melbourne Fringe in 2006. [3]

McLennan co-created the web series Bleak with Kate McCartney in 2010, which in won the Kit Denton Disfellowship for Courage and Excellence in Performance Writing at the 2011 AWGIE Awards, worth A$30,000.[4]

Since then, "the two Kates" have worked together a lot.[5][6] McLennan and McCartney formed their production company called Lead Balloon TV. They wrote, produced and starred as an intolerable foodie (McLennan) and a food intolerant (McCartney) in a cooking-based web series called The Katering Show which screened on their YouTube channel in 2014. A second season of The Katering Show was screened on the ABC TV and then on ABC iview in 2016.[1][6]

In 2017, McLennan and McCartney collaborated on an ABC Television comedy called Get Krack!n, playing exaggerated versions of themselves as breakfast show TV hosts, which screened on ABC iview and in the U.S.[7][1] Get Krack!n ran for two seasons of eight episodes each, with the final episode going to air in April 2019, with Aboriginal actors and writers Miranda Tapsell and Nakkiah Lui given the stage to make strong statements about racism in Australia.[8]

In June 2023 an eight-part crime comedy McLennan worked on with McCartney entitled Deadloch and starring Kate Box premiered on Amazon Prime Video.[9][10][11][12][13]

Personal life

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McLennan has a daughter.[1]

Awards and nominations

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Screen Writing
Year Award Category Work Result Role Ref.
2011 Kit Denton Disfellowship For Courage and Excellence in Performance Writing Bleak (web-series) Won Shared with Kate McCartney [4][14]
Stand-up Comedy
Year Award Category Work Result Role Ref.
2006 Melbourne Fringe Festival Best Comedy Award The Debutante Diaries Won Writer, performer [15]
2006 Melbourne Fringe Festival Best Emerging Artist Award The Debutante Diaries Won Writer, performer [15]
2007 SA Theatre Guide Best Comedy Award The Debutante Diaries Nominated Writer, performer
2007 Short and Sweet Festival Best Actress All The Way to the Top Nominated Writer, performer
2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Barry Award for Best Show The Debutante Diaries Nominated Writer, performer [16]
2011 The Age M-IE Award for Rising Comedy Star The Debutante Diaries Won Writer, performer [3]
2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Golden Gibbo Award for Best Show Standard Double Nominated Writer, performer [17]
2024 13th AACTA Awards Best Screenplay in Television Deadloch (Episode 1) Won Co-writer [18]

Stand-up comedy tours

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Tours
Year Title Notes Role
2002 The Hindsight Prophecies Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2002 The Six Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2002 The 666 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2003 Total Entertainments Melbourne Fringe Festival Writer/performer
2005 Henpecked Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2006 The Wrong Night Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2006 The Debutante Diaries Melbourne Fringe Festival Writer/performer
2007 The Debutante Diaries Edinburgh Festival Fringe Writer/performer
2007 The Enthusiasts Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2008 Beaconsfield: the Musical Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2010 I Coulda Been A Sailor Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer
2011 Homeward Bound Melbourne Fringe Festival Writer/performer
2012 Comedy Festival Roadshow Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow in Australia Writer/performer
2013 Standard Double Melbourne International Comedy Festival Writer/performer

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
2007 All The Way to the Top Hayley Actor
2009 Four Minutes of Fame Karla Tutt Actor
2010 Kwik Fix Samara Actor
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Stingers Melissa 1 episode
2003 MDA Fan 1 episode
2005 Let Loose Live Writer/actor 2 episodes
2007-2011 Dogstar Simone (voice) 52 episodes
2008 The Mansion Writer/actor 13 episodes
2010 Offspring Café girl 1 episode
2011 Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth Actor 3 episodes
2012 Exchange Student Zero Charity (voice) 1 episode
2012 Live on Bowen Herself 1 episode
2013 It's a Date Jessica 1 episode
2013 SlideShow Herself 1 episode
2013 You're Skitting Me Writer 13 episodes
2013-2014 Comedy Up Late Herself 2 episodes
2014 House Husbands Skye 1 episode
2014-2015 The Flamin' Thongs Narelle Thong 26 episodes
2015 Little Lunch Writer 2 episodes
2015 Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane Megan 1 episode
2014-2015 Winners and Losers Kathryn Piper 3 episodes
2015 Comedy Showroom - Bleak Writer/ Actor (Anna O’Brien) 1 episode
2015 Slumber Party Writer 1 episode
2015 In The Zone IV Herself 1 episode
2016 The Katering Show (season 2) Writer/ Producer/ Herself 8 episodes
2016 Dogstar: Christmas in Space Simone Clark/ Celeste Sharp (voices) 1 episode
2017-2019 Get Krack!n Writer/ Producer/ Herself 16 episodes
2017 Have You Been Paying Attention? Herself/ Guest Quiz Master 1 episode
2017 Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell Herself 1 episode
2010 Wakkaville Missy (voice) 26 episodes
2018 Sando Writer 6 episodes
2018 Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation Herself 1 episode
2019 Hughesy, We Have a Problem Herself 1 episode
2019 Celebrity Name Game Herself 1 episode
2023 Deadloch Creator / Writer 8 episodes
Web series
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Bleak- The Web Series Writer/Actor (Anna) 4 episodes
2015 The Katering Show (season 1) Writer/ Producer/ Herself 6 episodes

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Valentish, Jenny (27 August 2017). "Get Krack!n: how The Katering Show's comedic duo are skewering morning TV". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Bastow, Clem (30 December 2011). "My Melbourne: Kate McLennan". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b Staff writer, The Age (20 November 2011). "It's the third annual M-ie awards". The Age. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b Swift, Brendan (26 September 2011). "AWGIE Award Winners Announced". IF. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  5. ^ Gray, Lorna (29 October 2023). "Deadloch actor Kate Box on queer representation on Australian TV". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b Buckmaster, Luke (30 August 2017). "Get Krack!n review – Katering Show Kates face-plant uproariously into milieu of breakfast TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  7. ^ Moran, Rob (16 February 2017). "The Katering Show's Kates to tackle breakfast TV in new ABC series Get Krack!n". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Small screen highlights: THAT episode of Get Krack!n". ScreenHub Australia. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  9. ^ Northover, Kylie (18 May 2023). "The Kates' mystery opens with a dead body - but not what you expect". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  10. ^ Deadloch at IMDb
  11. ^ "Fresh take: Deadloch". Tribune India. 6 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Deadloch' (Trailer)". if.com.au. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Deadloch: The Kates are back with 'feminist, noir, crime comedy'". The New Daily. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  14. ^ Staff writer, The Wheeler Centre. "Kate McCartney". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  15. ^ a b Atkins, Jo (2012). "Talented Comedian Kate McLennan". Port Macquarie Focus. Creative House Publications Pty Ltd. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  16. ^ Platt, Craig (23 April 2007). "Barry Nominees Announced". The Age. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  17. ^ Staff writer, Squirrel Comedy (21 April 2013). "Winners of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2013". Squirrel Comedy. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  18. ^ "AACTA Awards 2024: Winners | TV Tonight". 10 February 2024.
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