What 'Biggest Show on TV' Did Zosia Mamet Quit Because of the Bullying Showrunner?

Over on The Hollywood Reporter, there’s an excerpt from Zosia Mamet’s forthcoming essay collection Does This Make Me Funny?. In it, she describes a harrowing experience on the set of one of the biggest shows on television, and why she quit because of it.

The gist: During a blocking rehearsal for an episode, Mamet walked over to pick up a manila envelope and remove the photos inside. After she did, the showrunner — not the episode’s director — yelled “cut” and began berating her for how she opened the envelope.

“He finally stops right in front of me, he takes a few more beats before he lifts his head, looks at me, and says, ‘What the f**k are you doing?’ To which I say, ‘Um…rehearsing?’

And then he grabs my hand that’s holding the manila envelope and he says, ‘No! What the f**k are you doing with this! That’s not how you take something out of an envelope! Do it again!’”

They repeated the scene over and over. Each time, after she removed the photos from the envelope, the showrunner called cut and yelled at her again.

He spews the kitchen sink at me: “You’re doing it wrong!”

“How the f**k can you think that looks right at all?”

“That’s not how anyone would remove anything from an envelope ever!”

“I don’t understand — when I cast you, you knew how to act.”

“I’m honestly confused at how you can be so bad at this.”

“Did you forget how to act, Mamet?”

“What’s wrong with you? Do it again.”

After about half an hour of this, the showrunner gave up and moved on. But after her day on set, Mamet called her agent and quit. She refused to go back, saying she didn’t care if the network sued her.

She later said she was still proud to have been a small part of the series, which won many awards. She recalled seeing the showrunner at the Emmys, where both their shows were nominated, and that he pretended not to know her. She added that he hasn’t made anything since.

That’s not quite true: he did create one series, The Romanoffs, but it bombed, and he hasn’t been heard from much since, though rumor has it he’s working on a Dead Calm remake. This also isn’t the first account of him being an “emotional terrorist.”

And if you haven’t guessed by now, it’s Matthew Weiner. The show was Mad Men, where Mamet appeared in five episodes, though only one in the fifth season, despite being hired for more. Weiner is clearly a talented writer, but the industry will only accept so much assholery (and allegations) before it kicks you to the curb.

Excerpt: THR