The first season of Workin' Moms, a Canadian comedy television series created by Catherine Reitman, premiered on CBC Television on January 10, 2017.[1] The first season features an ensemble cast that includes Catherine Reitman, Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind and Juno Rinaldi[2] as a group of friends from a mommy-and-me parenting group as they deal with the challenges of being working mothers.[3] The series is produced by Wolf + Rabbit Entertainment, the production company of Reitman and her husband, Philip Sternberg.[2]
| Workin' Moms | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBC |
| Original release | January 10 – April 4, 2017 |
| Season chronology | |
Cast
editStarring
edit- Catherine Reitman as Kate Foster
- Dani Kind as Anne Carlson
- Juno Rinaldi as Frankie Coyne
- Jessalyn Wanlim as Jenny Matthews
- Philip Sternberg as Nathan Foster
- Ryan Belleville as Lionel Carlson
- Sadie Munroe as Alice Carlson
- Dennis Andres as Ian Matthews
Recurring
edit- Sarah McVie as Valerie "Val" Szalinsky
- Katherine Barrell as Alicia Rutherford
- Peter Keleghan as Richard Greenwood
- Nikki Duval as Rosie Phillips
- Kevin Vidal as Mo Daniels
- Jann Arden as Jane Carlson
- Oluniké Adeliyi as Giselle Bois
- Jess Salgueiro as Mean Nanny/Renya
- Novie Edwards as Sheila
- Jennifer Pudavick as Gena Morris
- Alden Adair as Marvin Grimes
Guest
edit- Mary Ashton as Sarah Hoffman
Episodes
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Bare" | Catherine Reitman | Catherine Reitman | January 10, 2017 | |
|
Workin' Moms follows a group of working mothers from a mommy-and-me parenting group in Toronto: PR executive Kate Foster; Kate's longtime best friend and no-nonsense psychiatrist Anne Carlson; real estate agent Frankie Coyne; and IT specialist Jenny Matthews. Following a nine-month maternity leave, Kate returns to her job at a high class PR firm "Gaze" and discovers two people having been hired in her absence. Kate excels on her first day, but is upset to find out through text that she missed an important milestone in her baby's life. Anne discovers she is pregnant despite having recently had a baby, and she reveals the news to her supportive husband Lionel. Frankie organizes her first open house following maternity leave, but struggles with postpartum depression. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Rules" | Paul Fox | Catherine Reitman | January 17, 2017 | |
|
Kate is told by her boss Richard that she is eligible for a three-month work gig in Montreal. At home, Kate fires her daytime nanny after discovering that she has been feeding Charlie baby formula without her or her husband Nathan's permission. Kate is finally able to get Charlie to latch. Anne is horrified to discover that her nine-year-old daughter, Alice, is expressing inappropriate behavior at school. Following her maternity leave, Jenny expresses reluctance on returning to work, but her stay-at-home husband Ian objects, as he wants more time at home to work on his screenplay. On her first day at work, Jenny masturbates in the break room and gets caught by a colleague. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Fem Card" | Aleysa Young | Catherine Reitman | January 24, 2017 | |
|
Alicia invites the mom group to her daughter's gender-neutral birthday party. Kate reluctantly gets her uptight mother, Eleanor, to take care of Charlie throughout the day. Though Eleanor is happy to babysit Charlie, she is not fond of Kate and Nathan's aggressive house dog. Jenny flirts with her new boss, Marvin. Frankie's wife Giselle pushes her to attend therapy to deal with her postpartum. Frankie has a therapy session with Anne, who decides to prescribe Frankie medication. At Alicia's birthday party, Frankie reels from the medication and experiences a brief breakdown in front of the partygoers. Following the incident, Frankie apologizes to the mothers and they all share dinner together. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Bad Help" | Paul Fox | Catherine Reitman | January 31, 2017 | |
|
Unable to handle her daughter's out-of-control behavior, Anne hires an expert "mean nanny" to deal with Alice. Kate starts to rethink her decision to hire her mother as Charlie's babysitter; Eleanor does not keep the house tidy, does not take Charlie outside, and neglects to feed the dog. Eleanor again voices her disapproval of Kate's dog after she is badly bitten. Jenny reveals to the mom group that she feels Ian is doing nothing as a stay-at-home dad, while Ian feels that Jenny does not trust him to be around their daughter. After continuing to flirt with Marvin at work, Jenny follows Marvin on social media and stalks his profile. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Sophie's Choice-ish" | Paul Fox | Diane Flacks | February 7, 2017 | |
|
Charlie bites another child at the playground. Eleanor believes Charlie is mimicking the house dog and strongly suggests Kate and Nathan euthanize the dog, upsetting Kate. When Nathan agrees that the dog is providing a hostile environment to Charlie, Kate decides to give the dog to her friendly dog-loving assistant Rosie. Under Anne's advice, Frankie takes up pottery as a new hobby, but she still feels disconnected from Giselle. Anne becomes jealous when Alice forms a friendly bond with the new nanny. Anne fears that she does not have that same friendly bond with her daughter; Lionel reassures her that she has a great connection with Alice. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Wolf & the Rabbit" | Aleysa Young | Rebecca Kohler | February 14, 2017 | |
|
Kate is shamed by the mom group and her colleagues after revealing she likes to watch Hentai. Richard informs Kate that her male colleague Mo is competing with her for the Montreal promotion. Struggling to connect with Giselle, Frankie visits an adult toy store and gets advice from a professional sex advisor. Later that night, Frankie makes another attempt to strengthen her relationship with Giselle. Jenny wants to strike an affair with Marvin, and she sends an inappropriate text message to him through her social media account. After Marvin receives the message, he initiates a brief sexual encounter with Jenny that she quickly breaks off. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Phoenix Rising" | Aleysa Young | Ingrid Haas | February 21, 2017 | |
|
Frankie succeeds as a real estate agent and is praised by her boss; however, she is unable to share the news with Giselle. While Lionel is away, Anne tries but struggles to bond with Alice. Jenny reluctantly helps Ian create a Kickstarter campaign about stay-at-home dads to help promote his screenplay. While filming an interview, Jenny reveals her feelings of being disconnected from her child, while Ian gets to stay home and bond with their daughter more. At Gaze, a colleague accidentally reveals to Kate that Mo has been offered the Montreal promotion. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Popsicle and a Hoop Earring" | Aleysa Young | Karen Moore | February 28, 2017 | |
|
Kate's free-spirited sister Sarah begins babysitting Charlie. Richard personally offers Kate the Montreal gig; Kate happily accepts the offer, but she neglects to inform Nathan. Frankie and Giselle turn to Anne to discuss the disconnect in their relationship. Jenny hosts an impromptu bachelorette party for a co-worker, and she invites the mom group. Frankie and Giselle attend the party and have a good time, while Anne and Kate vent their frustrations to party guests. At the party, Jenny drunkenly decides to pierce her nipple with a lost hoop earring. Jenny realizes she wants to divorce Ian. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Tricky Nipple" | Paul Fox | Rebecca Kohler | March 7, 2017 | |
|
Kate tells Nathan that she has accepted the Montreal promotion; Nathan is angry that Kate has lied to her, and he is concerned about Charlie being away from his mother for three months. Sarah supports Kate's decision and offers to help babysit Charlie while her sister is absent. Following her improvised nipple piercing, Jenny’s nipple gets infected; Jenny confides to Val, the leader of the mom group, about stopping breastfeeding. Frankie begins showing signs of depression. Lionel and Anne are facing money problems. During a therapy session, Anne faints on her stomach due to a subchorionic bleed. Anne is advised by her doctor to stay on bed rest, as the bleeding could increase the risk of a miscarriage. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Coxswain" | Paul Fox | Karen Moore | March 14, 2017 | |
|
Alice’s relationship with the nanny continues to flourish. In another attempt to bond with Alice, Anne decides to take Alice for horseback riding, against Lionel and the doctor’s orders. When Anne suddenly begins bleeding after riding a horse, she is rushed back to the hospital and is placed on mandatory bed rest from home. Frankie continues to deal with her postpartum, and a breakdown in front of a client forces her to take time off work. Kate takes time off work to plan for Montreal, and she ends up spending the day with a group of Sarah's friends. Though Nathan is still not thrilled about the Montreal promotion, he accepts Kate’s decision and the two make up. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Bye Bye Kate" | Paul Fox | Rebecca Kohler | March 21, 2017 | |
|
Giselle returns to her teaching job, leaving the temporarily unemployed Frankie to stay at home with Rhoda. Encouraged by a Marie Kondo book, Frankie attempts to achieve "domestic purity" by selling items online. Anne reveals to the mom group that she's considering an abortion, shocking the mothers. Skipping her bed rest, Anne asks Kate to drive her to an abortion clinic. However, Anne feels uncomfortable being present in the clinic without Lionel and quickly leaves. Lionel is furious with Anne, as she had consulted him. Jenny goes out for wild partying with her friend, Gena, but the night ends disastrously. Finally coming to her senses, Jenny tearfully reveals her nipple ring to a shocked Ian, who helps her remove the piercing. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Merde" | Paul Fox | Catherine Reitman | March 28, 2017 | |
|
Kate enjoys her first few days in Montreal, though she struggles to adjust to life without Nathan and Charlie. Kate does her first work presentation for Victoria Stromanger, the intimidating female client whom Kate idolizes. Ian, feeling betrayed by Jenny’s actions, begins acting coldly towards her. Frankie quickly becomes addicted to making sales online, and she winds up selling the family home. Giselle states that she feels she's "drowning" in their marriage, and threatens to leave if Frankie does not get their house back. Anne and Lionel have an honest discussion about raising a third child, which ultimately results in Anne deciding to go through with the abortion. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Having It All" | Paul Fox | Catherine Reitman | April 4, 2017 | |
|
During her first sales meeting, Kate discovers that Charlie has been taken to the hospital. Shocked, Kate inadvertently tells the clients about Charlie’s state; Victoria chastises Kate for “revealing negative truths” in front of the clients. Against Victoria’s order to finish the meeting, Kate leaves and takes an immediate flight to Toronto to visit Charlie in the hospital. Alice’s school project brings her and Anne closer together. Ian is furious with Jenny for being untruthful, and asks if she is committed to their relationship; Jenny states that she does not know. Frankie is able to reclaim her house from the original buyers, and she shares an intimate moment with Giselle, revealing that she wants to attend therapy to deal with her depression. | ||||||
Reception
editOn Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has an approval rating of 77% based on reviews from 13 critics.[4]
References
edit- ^ "CBC Unveils Winter Schedule". Broadcaster, November 14, 2016.
- ^ a b "Three Actresses Join 'Black-ish' Star Catherine Reitman's Upcoming Comedy 'Workin' Moms'". The Hollywood Reporter, May 24, 2016.
- ^ "Working out Workin’ Moms". Playback, August 24, 2016.
- ^ "Workin' Moms: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes.