Tag Archives: Workin’ Moms

Featured, Web series

Season 2 of Detention Adventure a slam-dunk with new mystery and characters

At the end of its first season, Detention Adventure teased a new quest to be tackled by our heroic foursome: a map hinting at the lost treasure of Ignatius Cockshutt.

The time for that quest is nigh, as Season 2 of Detention Adventure returns to CBC Gem on Friday.

But Raign (Simone Miller), Brett (Tomaso Sanelli), Joy (Alina Prijono), and Hulk (Jack Fulton) aren’t alone this time around; quick and quirky Kelly (Lilly Bartlam) joins the fray and adds a new dimension to the web series.

“We wanted to have a history expert this season,” says co-creator, co-executive producer, co-writer and director Joe Kicak. “Having Kelly in there really became the catalyst for this season. And, as you’ll see, she very much becomes part of the story arc.”

A big part of what makes the second season of Detention Adventure so enjoyable—aside from the nods to Brantford, Ont. (my hometown) and the addition of Workin’ Moms’ Sarah McVie—is the personal stories attached to the four main characters. From dealing with divorce or the death of a parent to feeling like the odd one out or an underachiever, Raign, Brett, Joy and Hulk face reality when they aren’t hunting for Cockshutt’s treasure.

“We wanted them to feel very real,” says co-creator, co-executive producer and co-writer Carmen Albano. “The emotional arc of our characters is important, so it had to be genuine.”

Detention Adventure serves up genuine scares too. Several scenes shot in a darkened church result in very creepy moments, making this adult wonder if it was a little too scary for kids.

“CBC told us to just go for it,” Kicak says with a laugh. “We shot one scene and they said, ‘We didn’t really get a jump scare,’ so we made it even worse. Then they said, ‘OK, maybe you went a little too far.’ It might scare some kids but, at the same time, you might have other kids who really enjoy the ride.”

Climb on board the ride this Friday.

Season 2 of Detention Adventure is available on CBC Gem this Friday.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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Workin' Moms

Production begins on Season 5 of Workin’ Moms

From a media release:

Principal photography has begun on the fifth season of CBC’s bold and irreverent original comedy WORKIN’ MOMS (10×30), produced by Wolf + Rabbit Entertainment. The series is created by Catherine Reitman (Black-ish, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), who serves as showrunner and executive producer and stars as Kate Foster. WORKIN’ MOMS looks at the polarizing and unexpected realities of the lives of a group of friends—all working moms—and their partners, as they’ve adjusted to life as parents. They might not be able to have it all, but they’re sure as hell going to try. Production will continue in and around Toronto through late November for a winter 2021 premiere on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

Season five of WORKIN’ MOMS continues to explore careers, motherhood and the delicate balance of having it all. Kate is inspired by a formidable new client, but could it cost her everything she’s worked for? Anne leaves Kate and her old life behind, as she, Lionel and the family move to Calgary. While Frankie easily steps into a leadership role at work, she struggles to find a connection with baby Solomon at home. Meanwhile, Jenny realizes her relationship with MCP could have more strings attached than she thought. The women embark on new chapters of their lives, while striving to maintain their friendships, careers, and parenting goals.

Returning cast include Dani Kind as Anne; Juno Rinaldi as Frankie; Jessalyn Wanlim as Jenny; Philip Sternberg as Nathan; Ryan Belleville as Lionel; Olunike Adeliyi as Giselle; Sarah McVie as Val; Katherine Barrell as Alicia; Sadie Munroe as Alice; Alex Mallari Jr. as MCP; Mimi Kuzyk as Eleanor; and Peter Keleghan as Richard, among other fan favourites. Joining the ensemble cast this season is Enuka Okuma (Impulse, Caught, Rookie Blue) as razor-sharp publishing executive Sloane Mitchell.

Earlier this month, Catherine Reitman was recognized by the Alliance for Women in Media with two Gracie Awards for WORKIN’ MOMS —one for Best Lead Actress, Comedy and one for Best Direction, Comedy. The Gracies® are named after media pioneer Gracie Allen, who embodied the character of the awards, and recognize exemplary programming created by, for and about women in radio, television, and interactive media.

WORKIN’ MOMS is executive produced by Catherine Reitman, Philip Sternberg and Jonathan A. Walker. Directors for the season are Mars Horodyski (Murdoch Mysteries, This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Aleysa Young (New Eden, Baroness von Sketch Show). The series is written by Reitman, Jessie Gabe (Frankie Drake Mysteries, Mr. D) who is also co-executive producer this season, Karen Moore (Mary Kills People, Detention Adventure) who serves as supervising producer, Daniel Gold (Workin’ Moms) and Linsey Stewart (Mr. D, The Commute). Associate producers are Karyn Nolan (Workin’ Moms, The Stork Derby) and Lisa Benedetto (Workin’ Moms).  Series cinematography by Ben Lichty (TallBoyz), production design by Danielle Sahota (Workin’ Moms, TallBoyz) and costume design by Sheila Fitzpatrick (Workin’ Moms, The Padre). For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Trish Williams is Executive Director, Scripted Content; Michelle Daly is Senior Director, Comedy, Scripted Content; and Sandra Picheca is Executive in Charge of Production.

A CBC original series, WORKIN’ MOMS is produced by Wolf + Rabbit Entertainment with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund. The series is distributed internationally by Coldsprings Media LLC and represented by Executive Producer Tina Horwitz and her company Vanguarde Artists Management. Nominated for multiple Canadian Screen Awards and two International Emmy® Awards, the series airs in Canada on CBC and CBC Gem, and streams worldwide as a Netflix Original.

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Workin' Moms

Links: Workin’ Moms, Season 4

From Melissa Hank of Postmedia:

Link: Catherine Reitman serves up the naked truth on Workin’ Moms
“Just because they’re moms doesn’t mean they can’t take the ride of what it is to make the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ choice.” Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Workin’ Moms stars preview what’s to come in Season 4
“I know there’s a lot of Team Nathans, and an equal amount Team Mikes, so it was a difficult question to answer, but we did it before the show aired so lucky for us, we had already committed to a path.” Continue reading.

From Victoria Ahearn of the Canadian Press:

Link: Catherine Reitman says there’s a ‘real hunger’ for shows like ‘Workin’ Moms’
“It blows my mind that a woman in another country who is raising her baby under totally different circumstances than I am is having the exact same human experience that I am, and can find that through the show.” Continue reading.

From Courtney Shea of Toronto Life:

Link: Q&A: Workin’ Moms star and creator Catherine Reitman
“Sixty-nine per cent of my key hires are female, and people have told me ours is one of the lowest-drama, highest-efficiency productions they’ve been part of. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.” Continue reading.

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Featured, Workin' Moms

Workin’ Moms’ Dani Kind previews Anne’s Season 4 journey

When we last left Workin’ Moms, Kate (Catherine Reitman) was on the cusp of making a major decision. Would she choose to forgive Nathan (Philip Sternberg) for his extra-marital transgressions in favour of keeping her family together, or would she choose a relationship with Mike (Victor Webster)?

We find out what Kate’s decision is within moments of Season 4’s return on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. on CBC. And, suffice it to say, her pick makes waves. But Kate isn’t the only one who has made dramatic choices. In Tuesday’s return, “Charade,” we catch up with Anne (Dani Kind), who is doubling down on her parenting skills from Season 3, which saw her being overprotective of her daughter, Alice (Sadie Munroe), much to the chagrin of Anne’s husband, Lionel (Ryan Belleville).

We caught up with Dani Kind ahead of Workin’ Moms’ return to get her take on Season 4 and Anne’s parenting skills.

Congratulations on Season 4. When you signed on for the first season, did you ever think that there’d be a fourth?
Dani Kind: No. Just looking at old pictures of how young my kids were when the show started, and I was like, ‘Where the hell did the last few years go?’ It’s so insane. It’s amazing that anything in this industry ever gets made because it’s all so hard to make anything. But on top of it, I was thinking about us all being moms of way younger kids and I was just like, ‘How the fuck did we even show up in the morning?’

Last season Anne was very protective of Alice, jumping out of the bushes, taking her phone, etc. What was it like playing that character in the last season? Anne has evolved and we’re seeing a side of her that maybe makes some people feel a little bit uncomfortable.
DK: Totally, totally. And I don’t think she would generally be an over-protective helicopter parent, but I think because of what she was dealing with, post going through that situation with Brad, and I think that she went a little manic. The pendulum swung the other way to fiercely, fiercely protect her daughter because she was processing all of those feelings. So psychologically I was like, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ But then playing it was just the greatest thing in the world and Sadie Munroe, who plays Alice is, her and Ryan are … I couldn’t have ever asked for a better TV family then than those two. And they’re the easiest people on the planet to act with. And so when Catherine was like, ‘OK, and so now you’re going to do this fighting scene and teach her how to punch people on the dick.’ Sadie and I were both … I say it all the time, but it is like summer camp. Every time we get to do stuff like that and Ryan and Sadie are the greatest people to act with.

In Tuesday’s return, Anne is attempting to shop a book around about parenting. She still has this very strict regimen with Alice. As a parent, how do you feel about the way that Anne is parenting? Can you relate to any of this?
DK: No, I mean I don’t parent that way. I can definitely sympathize with what she’s going through because my kids aren’t teenagers yet. I’ve seen my sister go through it and I know what kind of teenager I was. And as a parent, I can sympathize with any parents just being like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m trying my best.’ And I think that’s all Anne’s doing. She’s not maybe doing the best thing, but she’s trying her absolute best and she’s Anne so she goes 110 per cent at everything.

You already mentioned Sadie. What’s it been like working with her over the years? I mean you literally have been watching her grow up in front of your eyes over these past four seasons.
DK: I feel really lucky to work with her because of the actress she is. But also their real-life family, her parents are so incredible and she has two brothers and one of her brothers is also an actor and the way her family operates and the way that they’ve embraced me in their life and they let me spend time with her outside of set before we choose, we have lunch and stuff and they’ve just been really open arms about the whole experience.

I’m just in awe of her parents coming to set every day and the way that they treat her and it really reflects for what kind of actress she’s becoming. Watching her grow up on set has been a real honour to watch and I’m trying to watch carefully so that I can steal things to parent my boys. And that face she has is so innocent. Wait until you see her this season. She needs her own show. I’ve said it a hundred times, but she should just have her own show.

What’s going on with Anne’s journey this season? What can you say?
DK: What can I say? I mean, she has a new look this season. I wish I could talk more about where the look comes from or why she’s doing it, but she’s on her own journey with this book and she’s trying to develop this book and she has this great storyline. But then I think the storyline of her and Kate always trumps all of it. So I don’t know how much more I can say about that, but there are some struggles again this season that they have to work through together. Her and Kate.

Workin’ Moms airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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