Workin’ Moms: Catherine Reitman talks about “that” season finale storyline

It’s been over 24 hours since the season finale of Workin’ Moms and I’m still reeling.

“Look Back” was, of course, beautiful and funny thanks to Anne (Dani Kind) and Lionel’s (Ryan Belleville) commitment ceremony that reunited the clan and saw the reappearance of Jann Arden as Kate Carlson. Throw in Val’s (Sarah McVie) outrageous dress choice and overshare about Alicia’s (Kat Barrell) bedroom antics and there was plenty to laugh at and enjoy.

But, in a stunning reveal, we learned Nathan (Philip Sternberg) and Mean Nanny (Jess Salgueiro) have been having an affair. This just minutes after Kate (Catherine Reitman) and Nathan’s quickie in the wedding hall bathroom. Now it appears as though Kate could end up pregnant. All this after a season where Kate lost two jobs, strained her friendship with Anne and started her own business. It was just too much; we had to get Workin’ Moms‘ creator, showrunner, executive producer, star and director Reitman on the phone to discuss it all!

Most showrunners, in a second season of a series, will expand their characters’ worlds a bit. But you blew the show up and sent them in different directions. Was that always your intention?
Catherine Reitman: Yes and no. We learn so much, the writers and Philip and I, during production. You can imagine things all day but the chemistry that happens in front of the camera absolutely determines things for me. Once I get in the edit bay and go, ‘Oh man! No wonder the audience is going crazy for him or her.’ I want to honour what’s meant to be and not just try to control it. Did I have a sneaking suspicion Sarah McVie was going to make Val the funniest character in the world? Yes. But did I know how great she was going to be? No. That’s something that I’m continuing to push forward. Even now I’m scratching my head in the Season 3 writers’ room wondering how I better feature our talent, how do I best include the chemistry that we’re witnessing. The yes part of it is, of course, I knew Jenny and Ian [Jessalyn Wanlim] and Ian [Dennis Andres] were never going to make it and there had to be consequences to her actions. That was something I had intended. So, yes and no.

You mentioned Val already. There were many funny moments this season and in the finale, but there were very serious moments too. Kate and Anne’s friendship … those characters were so real this season. Everyone can relate to them.
I’m so in love with Anne and Kate. I moved my world to Toronto two years ago and I don’t have a lot of close friends in my life. I have the people that I work with, my incredible kids and my husband. And I think most women that are full-time working moms are hungry for a friendship like that. We’re so desperate to see a connection like that. Dani Kind and I have become very close in real life and I saw our chemistry on-camera—which very much exists off-camera too—but I don’t think anyone, including me, knew how potent it would be. We started going, ‘OK, this is the real love story.’ The husbands and the partners are fantastic but what our audience really seems to be thumping their hearts for is the Kate-Anne storyline. And I do think that’s because so many women crave that in real life. I made the decision to direct the first and last episodes to bookend what a friendship could look like over a decade.

Let’s discuss the Brad storyline. I believe your scripts were already written when the #MeToo movement happened, correct?
You’re absolutely right.

It was a dramatic arc with, I feel, Anne getting her mojo back after perhaps questioning her strength.
As far as the #MeToo movement goes, it has always existed. It’s this fantastic thing where victims are now having a voice. All of the women in our room, for the most part, had some uncomfortable stories with an authority figure. No one was hypnotized. We thought there was something that could potentially be funny, potentially be really creepy and bothersome. But, most importantly, that it would challenge this character we love to see as strong. People love that Anne is a no-nonsense ass kicker. So of all the characters, to see her emotionally threatened in a sexually deviant way by someone she trusted, her husband, it felt like the right combo to take her on a great arc. And then you have someone as brilliant as Christopher Redman come in [as Brad]. I think I saw the whole country of Canada, Greg, I read for that role for weeks and weeks and weeks because it’s a really tricky role. Chris had this amazing ability of making him very believable and nuanced while also tapping into funny even though it’s very serious subject matter. It was really exciting to cast him and realize we had something real on our hands.

Let’s break down the season finale. We had happy moments thanks to Lionel and Anne, and we had the sad because of the revelation Mean Nanny and Nathan are having an affair. With everything that Kate has been through this season—the death of her father, losing two jobs and a falling out with Anne—why this?
[Laughs.] It’s true. She got her ass kicked this season. Something that we’re really hemming and hawing about in the Season 3 writers’ room is … look, nothing justifies having an affair. I’m a married woman of 10 years, I can wrap my head around that. Kate, whether we like to admit it not, had both feet, head, arms, legs, breasts, her whole body out the door this entire season. She hasn’t been on the same page as her husband and there are consequences to that. I don’t think she asked for this and I don’t think she deserves this. But in my quest to have it all, in the hours that I spend working and the hours that I have left that I want to give to my children, my marriage often suffers for it. Luckily, Philip is in the same game as me. For most couples, the pressure to keep things alive … fuck sex, just staying emotionally connected is so much responsibility. As a showrunner, I knew the audience wouldn’t see that coming. It is a really effective gut punch. But, if you go back over the season, we planted so many seeds to show this coming.

What was Phil’s reaction to this story angle for Nathan and Kate?
We held off letting him know that detail. About halfway through writing the season the network comes in and we pitch them what we have so far. Philip came to that and we went through to the end and I looked right at him and I could tell his socks were knocked off. Phil is always story above all else. He was totally on board for it. The day of was challenging and the person I felt most for was Jess Salgueiro. She was just incredible on the day. Not only did she have to kiss Phil but I had to direct her in doing it. I pray every director gets to work with someone like Jess because there was no bullshit. She brought her A-game. Never for a second did I see her sweat or feeling uncomfortable. I was so impressed with her.

Where are you at with Season 3?
We’ve got about six episodes outlined that we’re just starting to draft out. That being said, everything can change. After watching the season finale last night, I thought, ‘You know what this needs? This, that and the other.’ I’m re-opening the outline of the first episode so it’s still all a Tetris board.

Do you think Kate should confront Nathan right away or should she focus on building her business? What was your favourite storyline from Season 2? Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

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6 thoughts on “Workin’ Moms: Catherine Reitman talks about “that” season finale storyline”

  1. Well, Kate should do a brief introspection re 1) how big or little was her own part in bringing her marriage to this pass which is after all a boat with 2 rowers who can be in harmony, at cross purposes or simply drifting and 2) whether the marriage is important enough for her to attempt salvage.

    If she’s basically an honest person, she’ll tell Nathan she knows about his affair and hear out his version of their marriage. However, the Kate the show has shown may well delay notifying her husband in order to make preparations that will benefit her at the dissolution of the marriage e.g. consult a lawyer unilaterally, use Nathan to hold the fort while she’s getting her business off the ground. She was incredibly dishonest at her dual workplaces so her default setting appears to be subterfuge for personal gain. But when that would require a continuing sex life with a person who’s deeply betrayed her…it may be a step too far even for Kate who makes her living in an artificial world of lying or exaggerating for money.

    Certainly her toxic friend Anne is likely to egg her on in a bitter punishing direction as a wronged wife herself in her first marriage instead of bringing a therapist’s calm view to the situation. A therapist instead of a harpy type friend would urge more time spent on one’s own development instead of conducting an immature vendetta against what was a neglected husband in a marriage that clearly took last place in Kate’s priorities with career first and child second. Since Anne just aborted her own child for sheer personal convenience, imagine her advice should Kate get pregnant while her marriage is coming apart.

    Nathan behaved like a jerk by stringing along wife and lover but both men and women often do that for a transition period while weighing whether to leave a marriage or not. Indeed, the lover is often a tool to get out of an unfulfilling marriage, a transition object. That said, his willingness to risk pregnancy by having unprotected sex with his wife makes him either stupid, swinish (not previously shown) or likely to break with the lover who’s then just a fling.

  2. This is the funniest, smartest show with the most enjoyable characters currently on television.
    Keep it up!

  3. I have really gotten hooked on this show! Just wanted to mention the music choices were fantastic in the finale!

  4. I think Kate would keep it secret at the beginning because she’s not sure what to do (or what she wants to happen). I don’t think she could even tell Anne, because then Anne would immediately get upset and fire the nanny and the secret would be out.

    Kate (while sometimes reckless) is smart. She would surreptitiously try to determine the extent of the affair without tipping anyone off. I think she would test the waters to see if it was possible to salvage the marriage.

    She would definitely try to thwart any further romantic contact between the nanny and her husband. And she would try to repair her relationship with her husband as though nothing had happened and make sure that she spent time with her husband during times when opportunities to see the nanny might otherwise arise. She would definitely not have any qualms about discussing her now-steamy sex life and improved marital relationship with her friend Anne (in front of the nanny). She’s a bit vindictive at times, so she would relish the nanny’s attempts to hide her jealousy and pain.

    At the beginning, I don’t think she would tell her husband if she got pregnant, because she might want to keep the option of an abortion open. But she would definitely tell Anne about the pregancy (in earshot of the nanny) and pretend to be happy about it. The nanny would be the one to break the news of the pregancy to Brad, and his smile would give away the fact that he’s actually happy about this new development.

    As her business becomes more successful, Kate would bring on more help, coginzant of the fact that (1) she needs to keep her husband occupied and (2) she will need help with her business if she decides to go through with the pregnancy. As is often the case with businesses, picking the right people and delegating will help her become far more successful far more quickly than she might have become otherwise.

    Later, with the pregnancy progressing, Kate would be trying to decide if she wants to go through with it (knowing that she might have to do it alone). At this point, she will talk to Anne, after swearing Anne to secrecy. Anne will tell her to leave Brad. Kate will delay the decision.

    Eventually, Anne will end up spilling the beans to Brad somehow (perhaps in an overly emotional moment). Brad had been starting to feel that he was making a mistake leaving Kate and had already broken off things with the nanny. However, with Anne’s secret-spilling, he will once again feel that Kate is making decisions without him and will tell her that he wants a separation. Kate, furious with Anne, will end their friendship.

  5. I love the free spirited atmosphere of the story line and the characters seem to enjoy their parts. It is real, entertaining and the length of each episode is ideal. Thank you CATHERINE REITMAN :-) I am looking forward to season 3.

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