Tates Creek High School grad lands role on HBO’s sex-focused ‘Mrs. Fletcher’
Katie Kershaw, an actress who grew up in Hazard and Lexington, has spent several years in improvisational theater, but she’s now making her debut on the small screen.
Kershaw, who graduated from Tates Creek High School in 2005, is featured in the HBO series “Mrs. Fletcher,” opposite Kathryn Hahn, who plays the title character.
The seven-episode series is based on a novel with the same name by Tom Perrotta.
The show follows the story of Hahn’s character, a divorced mom in her mid-40s whose introduction to online porn leads her on a journey of sexual exploration, while her college freshman son is also on a path of self-discovery.
Kershaw’s character is Amanda, a co-worker of Hahn’s character, Eve.
It’s Kershaw’s first television role, and one that she says took her by surprise.
Kershaw, who graduated from Northern Kentucky University, had been living in Chicago and working in improvisational theater for six years when she said her agent called her last year and asked how she’d feel about doing nudity for an HBO series.
“I was just like, ‘Sure, like that’s ever going to happen. There’s no way I’ll get it,’” Kershaw said.
But she did.
So not only was she filming for television for the first time, she was tackling some pretty racy material, too.
While Hahn’s character, Eve, is “really kind of lost,” Kershaw’s Amanda is confident, bold and “a very open person as far as relationships go, as far as her sexuality.”
“That leads into some interesting dynamics” between the two, Kershaw said.
Filming began in January and finished in April.
Hahn, whose credits include “Step Brothers,” “Bad Moms,” “The Dictator” and “Transparent,” was “an amazing scene partner,” Kershaw said. “Really, really kind and giving.”
Since landing the part, Kershaw said she’s shot a small role on the fourth season of “Fargo.”
She’s also made the move from Chicago, where she had worked and toured with The Second City improvisational comedy theater company, to Los Angeles.
“It was just a natural point in my career,” Kershaw said. “I had kind of done everything that I went there to do,” and she said it felt like it was time to “get back to that kind of scrappy place I was in when I moved to Chicago.”
For now, she said, “I’m just kind of adjusting to living in L.A.”
Kershaw said distance has made her appreciate her Kentucky roots. She said she’s planning a visit to family here at Christmas.
“It’s really a beautiful, unique place to grow up,” she said.
The fifth episode of “Mrs. Fletcher” airs Sunday at 10:35 p.m. EST on HBO. Episodes are also available for streaming online.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Tates Creek High School grad lands role on HBO’s sex-focused ‘Mrs. Fletcher’."
