Kate Foster is a mess. Honestly, that’s why we love her, right? By the time we hit Workin Moms Season 6, the glossy veneer of "having it all" hasn't just cracked—it’s shattered into a million sharp pieces that the characters are forced to walk over barefoot. If you’ve been following Catherine Reitman’s brainchild since the early days of the Mommy and Me classes, you know the show thrives on the uncomfortable. But this season? It felt different. It felt heavier.
The stakes shifted from "how do I balance a meeting and a diaper change" to "who am I if I actually succeed?"
The Kate Foster Dilemma and that Cliffhanger
Remember the Season 5 finale? We were all left screaming at our screens when Anne’s daughter, Alice, saw Nathan Jr. show up at the door. Workin Moms Season 6 picks up the pieces of that bombshell immediately. It’s not just about a secret kid; it’s about the intrusion of a past life into a present that Kate worked incredibly hard to build. Nathan (Philip Sternberg) is trying his best, but Kate is drowning.
She’s running a burgeoning PR firm. She’s raising two young kids. And now, she’s essentially step-mothering a teenager who reminds her of her husband's previous life. It’s a lot.
The beauty of the writing this year is how it handles Nathan Jr. He isn't a villain. He’s just a kid who lost his mom. Yet, his presence acts as a physical manifestation of Kate’s anxiety. You see it in her posture. You hear it in her quick, clipped sentences. She wants to be the "good person," but she also wants her life back. It’s a selfish, human, and totally relatable reaction that most shows are too scared to touch.
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Anne’s Anger Management (Or Lack Thereof)
Anne Carlson is, and always will be, the lightning rod of this show. Moving to Cochrane was supposed to be a fresh start, but in Workin Moms Season 6, we see the wheels fall off. Fast. Anne’s struggle with Alice reaches a boiling point that feels almost painful to watch.
If you've ever parented a teenager, the scenes where Alice pushes Anne’s buttons will make your skin crawl.
Anne (Dani Kind) has always been defined by her control. She’s a psychiatrist. She literally gets paid to tell people how to manage their emotions. But when it comes to her own daughter, she is a chaotic disaster. The move back to Toronto—because, let’s be real, the show needed them back together—doesn't solve the underlying rage. It just gives it a different backdrop. The tension between being a protector and being a tyrant is a line Anne crosses repeatedly this season.
- She loses her cool.
- She tries to micromanage Alice's birth control.
- She picks fights that she knows she can’t win.
It's messy. It's raw. It's arguably the best performance Dani Kind has given in the entire series.
Val, Sloane, and the Career Ladder
Can we talk about Sloane Mitchell for a second? Enuka Okuma was the best addition to the later seasons. In Workin Moms Season 6, her pregnancy journey is the antithesis of the "glowing mother" trope. She is aggressive, she is ambitious, and she views her ultrasound appointments as annoying interruptions to her schedule.
Then there’s Val. Good old Val. Sarah McVie continues to be the comedic heartbeat, but the show finally gave her some real agency this year. Her "Val-al-al" energy is still there, but we see her navigating her own boundaries.
The workplace dynamics this season really highlight a shift in the cultural conversation. It’s not about "lean in" anymore. It’s about "how much of myself am I willing to sacrifice for a promotion?" Sloane faces this head-on. She’s a black woman in a high-powered position who refuses to let pregnancy be a "weakness," even when her body is screaming at her to slow down. The scene where she’s literally in labor but still trying to close a deal is peak Workin' Moms. It’s funny because it’s absurd, but it’s tragic because we know women who have actually felt that pressure.
Why the "Nathan Jr." Plot Polarized Fans
If you check Reddit or any fan forum, the Nathan Jr. storyline in Workin Moms Season 6 is a massive point of contention. Some fans felt it took too much time away from the core friendship of the four women. Others argued it was necessary to show the strain on Kate and Nathan’s marriage.
Honestly? It was necessary.
The show had already explored infidelity. It had explored career rivalry. This was a new kind of stress test. It forced Kate to confront the fact that she isn't always the center of Nathan's universe. Watching her navigate the boundaries with Nathan's late ex-partner's family was some of the most nuanced writing the show has ever produced. It wasn't about "bad guys." It was about the impossible logistics of blended families.
The Technical Shift: Direction and Tone
Catherine Reitman took some real risks with the pacing here. The episodes feel faster. The cuts are sharper. There’s a specific kind of kinetic energy in the office scenes that contrasts sharply with the heavy, almost stagnant feeling of the Carlson household.
The soundtrack also deserves a nod. It’s always been quirky, but this season used silence more effectively. When Kate is sitting in her car, just staring at the steering wheel before going inside, the lack of music says more than a three-minute monologue ever could.
Lessons from the Trenches: Actionable Takeaways
Watching Workin Moms Season 6 isn't just about entertainment; it’s a mirror. If you’re currently drowning in the middle of your own "season 6" of life, here’s how to handle it like a (slightly more stable) Kate Foster.
1. Acknowledge the "Third Entity" in your marriage
Whether it’s a surprise kid, a demanding job, or a sick parent, your relationship will eventually have to accommodate something that neither of you asked for. Kate and Nathan almost broke because they didn't know how to talk about Nathan Jr. without feeling like they were betraying each other.
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2. Stop trying to "win" against your kids
Anne Carlson’s biggest mistake is treating every interaction with Alice like a courtroom battle. If you’re a parent, the takeaway from this season is clear: you can’t control them, you can only guide them. The harder Anne pulled, the further Alice ran.
3. Boundaries are not "mean"
Sloane’s arc is a masterclass in professional boundaries. She knows her worth. She knows she’s the best in the room. Even when she’s vulnerable, she doesn't apologize for her ambition. We could all use a little more of that "Sloane energy" in our 9-to-5.
4. Lean into the chaos
The show works because it admits that everything is a disaster. Once you stop trying to make your life look like a curated Instagram feed, you can actually start living it.
Workin Moms Season 6 ends on a note that feels like a deep breath. It doesn't wrap everything up in a neat little bow—because life doesn't do that. It sets the stage for the final act, reminding us that while we might be "workin," we’re also humans who are allowed to fail. If you haven't binged it yet, do it for the fashion, stay for the therapy-worthy realizations, and maybe keep a glass of wine nearby for the Anne/Alice scenes. You’re going to need it.
To get the most out of your viewing, pay close attention to the background details in Kate's office—the production design tells a story of its own about her mental state. After finishing, compare the pilot episode's "Mommy and Me" dynamics to the boardroom scenes in this season to see just how far the concept of "motherhood" has evolved in the writers' room.