Debora Cahn is an American writer and producer of television and film. She was a writer and

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

on the Showtime series ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

'' for its final two seasons (2018–2020), and executive producer and

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

on the Netflix political thriller series '' The Diplomat''. Cahn has won two

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

s and has received multiple nominations.

Early life and education

Deborah Cahn graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and received a master's degree in acting from the

Institute for Advanced Theater Training The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre (ART/МХАТ) Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University was founded in 1987 as a training ground for the new American Theater by Robert Brustein. The institute has been reside ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

Cahn began her career as a writer and producer on ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'' from its fourth to seventh and final season (2002–2006). From 2006 to 2013, she was a writer and producer of '' Grey’s Anatomy''. She was a writer and co-executive producer for

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's HBO series ''

Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

'' (2016). In 2018, she wrote the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

film '' Paterno'', starring

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...

and directed by

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Rain Man'' (1988). His other best-known works are ''Diner'' (1982), '' The Natural'' (1984 ...

. She was a writer and

on the Showtime series ''

'' for its final two seasons (2018–2020). She was also a writer and consulting producer on FX's ''

Fosse/Verdon ''Fosse/Verdon'' is a 2019 American biographical drama miniseries, developed by Steven Levenson and Thomas Kail. Based on the biography ''Fosse'' by Sam Wasson, the series charts the troubled marriage and professional relationship of director ...

'' (2019), for which she won a

for Best Adapted Long Form Television. In 2022 Cahn signed a multi-year overall deal with

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. Under the deal, she is serving as executive producer and

on the political thriller drama series '' The Diplomat''.

Production company

Cahn's production company is Let's Not Turn This Into a Whole Big Production.

Awards and nominations

In 2005, Cahn won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for the fifth-season episode "

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

". In 2006 and 2007, Cahn was part of the writing staff for two television series nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series is an award presented since 1951 by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). The award goes to the producers of the series. The award is often cited as one of the "main awards" at th ...

and the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series; ''The West Wing'' in 2006 and ''Grey's Anatomy'' in 2007. In 2020, Cahn won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Long Form Television for ''

''.

Personal life

In 2006, Cahn married Michael Heller.

Episodes written

* '' The Diplomat'' ** Four episodes of season 1 (also showrunner) *''

'' ** " Two Minutes" ** " Deception Indicated" ** "

Useful Idiot A useful idiot or useful fool is a pejorative description of a person, suggesting that the person thinks they are fighting for a cause without fully comprehending the consequences of their actions, and who does not realize they are being manipula ...

" ** "

Active Measures Active measures () is a term used to describe political warfare conducted by the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The term, which dates back to the 1920s, includes operations such as espionage, propaganda, sabotage and assassination, b ...

" ** " Enemy of the State" * ''

'' ** "Me and My Baby" * ''

'' ** "Rock and Roll Queen" ** "The Racket" ** "Whispered Secrets" * ''

'' ** "College Kids" (story, with

Mark Goffman Mark Goffman is an American television writer and producer. He currently serves as an executive producer for the Netflix series ''The Umbrella Academy''. Prior to that, Goffman worked as the showrunner and an executive producer for CBS's ''Bul ...

) ** "Red Haven's on Fire" (story, with Mark Goffman) ** "Privateers" (teleplay and story, with Paul Redford and

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized f ...

) ** "Jefferson Lives" (story, with Carol Flint) ** "Abu el Banat" ** "

" ** "No Exit" (teleplay, with Carol Flint) ** "Liftoff" ** "Impact Winter" ** "Drought Conditions" ** "The Ticket" ** "Undecideds" ** "The Cold" (teleplay and story, with Lauren Schmidt) ** "Requiem" (with John Wells and Eli Attie) ** "Institutional Memory" * ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' ** " Sometimes a Fantasy" ** " Scars and Souvenirs" ** " Love/Addiction" ** " Losing My Mind" ** "Brave New World" ** "Wish You Were Here" ** "Now or Never" ** "

Blink Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral por ...

" ** " Push" ** " Not Responsible" ** "

Unaccompanied Minor An unaccompanied minor (sometimes "unaccompanied child" or "separated child") is a child without the presence of a legal guardian. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines unaccompanied minors and unaccompanied children as those "who ...

" ** " She's Gone" ** "

Dark Was the Night Dark Was the Night may refer to: *Dark Was the Night (album), ''Dark Was the Night'' (album), a 2009 compilation album *Dark Was the Night (2014 film), ''Dark Was the Night'' (2014 film), an American thriller film *Dark Was the Night (2018 film), ' ...

" ** "Run, Baby, Run" ** "She's Killing Me" ** "I Want You With Me" ** "Somebody That I Used To Know" * '' Private Practice'' ** "To Change the Things I Can" ** "Ex-Life" (with Jon Cowan, Robert Rovner and

Krista Vernoff Krista Vernoff (born October 24, 1971) is an American television screenwriter, executive producer and director. She is best known for being the showrunner for ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2007–11, 2017–2023) and its spin-off, ''Station 19'' (2019–202 ...

) ** "The End of a Beautiful Friendship

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cahn, Debora American television producers American women television producers American television writers Jewish American screenwriters Living people American women television writers Writers Guild of America Award winners Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Barnard College alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews