Workin' Moms, the long-running comedy, will come to an end at the conclusion of its seventh season.
The show was commissioned and produced by CBC television, which is part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and created by Catherine Reitman, who is also the show's star and executive producer. It aired on CBC in Canada and on Netflix in every other territory across the world.
Workin' Moms followed a group of working mothers who first meet at a mommy-and-me parenting group and become friends, and together they navigate the challenge of returning to work, balancing their hectic new lives and the many ups and downs that early parenthood can bring.
Starring alongside Reitman were Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind, Enuka Okuma, and Juno Rinaldi
Speaking about the decision to end the show after seven seasons, star and creator Reitman said in a statement to Deadline: "To our incredible fans, making this show has been the ride of my life. Philip and I hit the ground, day one of season one, with a three-month old and a two-year-old, watching as we pressed forward on one mission: to tell the stories of four flawed mothers, who dared to be something beyond their nurseries. Going to work every day, whether in the room with our brilliant writers, on set with our extraordinary cast or in post with the best producing team in the business, has cemented in me the importance of telling stories that have meaning, surrounded by artisans who get it."
She continued: “But like any story, there must be an ending. And so, it is with love and gratitude that I’m announcing season seven as our final season. The biggest thank you to our partners, CBC and Netflix, for getting behind a show that points a flashlight into the darkest corners of motherhood. To those of you who’ve stopped me on the street, to share your love of the show – I see you. I hear you. And I thank you. Go get ’em mamas…”
The show's seventh season is now in pre-production and will air in the spring of 2023. A modest hit with critics with a Rotten Tomatoes' rating of 79%, Workin' Moms has enjoyed a steady run on both CBC and Netflix, and, beginning in 2017, a series has arrived in the early months of the year in each year.
Next year's will be the last though.
Analysis: A blow for Netflix?
Workin' Moms is in the same situation as Schitt's Creek for Netflix in that it doesn't actually make the show, but carries it in every other territory bar Reitman and co's native Canada, meaning lots of people think it is a Netflix show. It also provide some of the show's budget.
Given Netflix's budgets, had executives wanted to, they could have simply taken the show in-house, but it's probable that all parties agree that after seven seasons the show has run its course. Not every show can be Friends or The Big Bang Theory.
Also, for Workin Moms, the whole premise was built around a group of working mothers from a mommy-and-me parenting group, and kids do grow up and there comes a time where they can make their own sandwiches.
It's worth saying that steady hits like Schitt's Creek, Workin Moms and Grace and Frankie are a key part of Netflix's offering, with comforting comedies that people grow to love as important to keeping subscribers as the big splashy dramas, so Netflix will need to find replacements. Maybe CBC, which gave Netflix both Schitt's Creek and Workin Moms, is developing the next hit. We'll have to wait and see...
