KATE SULLIVAN: This is the story of an actress, a comedian, a producer, a showrunner, and a true working mom.

CATHERINE REITMAN: I thought "Okay well, I'm not being some brilliant writer, I'm just telling the story that happened to me."

KATE: Catherine Reitman was underestimated in Hollywood until one day she sat down and wrote her own story.

CATHERINE REITMAN: And I remember just thinking, I just gotta make the show that I'd want to watch.

KATE: Today, Catherine is taking me to her favorite restaurant in Los Angeles, a dream destination owned by a legendary chef with out of this world food.

CATHERINE: Let's just party with this for a second.

Look at the sage leaves just soaked to the bone in butter.

KATE: She's sharing how she handled Hollywood, rumbled with rejection, and found her true north along the way.

CATHERINE: I think you gotta start somewhere and I have real imposter syndrome.

I will constantly feel like I'm faking it till I make it.

KATE: Even now?

CATHERINE: Oh yeah.

KATE: And then the moment she realized her own voice, her own experiences would be the ticket to connecting with so many others.

CATHERINE: You can't burden yourself with everyone else's idea of who you are.

You just have to be the most honest version of who you are.

♪ KATE: What's better in life than a bottle of wine, great food and an amazing conversation?

My name is Kate Sullivan and I am the host of To Dine For .

I'm a journalist, a foodie, a traveler, with an appetite for the stories of people who are hungry for more.

Dreamers.

Visionaries.

Artists.

Those who hustle hard in the direction they love.

I travel with them to their favorite restaurant, to hear how they did it.

This show is a toast to them and their American dream.

KATE: To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... ♪ ANNOUNCER: There are people in your life who count on you for what matters most.

American National agents are close to home and committed to our communities.

They'll help you find the right coverage for you, your family, even your farm and business.

You can learn more at americannational.com.

♪ KATE SULLIVAN: Today we're in Hollywood, California on our way into a restaurant called Osteria Mozza, created by famed restaurateur Nancy Silverton.

But it's the woman who chose this restaurant that I can't wait for you to meet.

She's a funny lady.

She's an actress, a producer, and a showrunner.

Her name is Catherine Reitman.

Catherine!

CATHERINE: Hey!

KATE: How are you?

So nice to meet you.

CATHERINE: Nice to meet you.

KATE: Thank you for doing this.

CATHERINE: Oh my God, are you kidding me?

This restaurant is the best.

Are you ready to dive in?

KATE: Oh my goodness, am I?

Yes, let's do it.

CATHERINE: Alright.

KATE: When you grab a bite on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles you know it's going to be top notch.

It's one of L.A.'s most fabulous streets, designed to stroll and shop.

There are comedy clubs, night out spots, and destination restaurants.

And at the corner of Highland and Melrose, there's what the locals call MozzaPlex.

It's a term coined for the building housing 3 restaurants with some of the best Italian food you can get in L.A. Today, we're lucky enough to score a table at Osteria Mozza known for its roasted meats, handmade pasta, and its Michelin star, the only Italian restaurant in the entire city to have one.

NANCY SILVERTON: I want them to come to the door excited, and I want them feeling that what we did for them fulfilled their excitement.

KATE: Osteria Mozza is the best of the best because of the woman behind it all.

Her name is Nancy Silverton and she has been at it for decades, trailblazing her way through this tough industry.

She's a classically trained chef, who calls herself a cook, and this cook has a pantry full of awards, including being named Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation.

Her artisan breads are so popular her bakery La Brea Bakery has become known worldwide.

She's written 10 cookbooks, and 14 years ago she helped open the doors to the tasty Osteria Mozza.

NANCY SILVERTON: People want to eat here because they love food and they love service.

It's not a place they want to eat here because they know it is a scene cause it's not a scene.

KATE: Her love for food and cooking is undeniable.

NANCY: I think the food here where it's feels like it's being cooked by people that love to cook.

KATE: Today I'm so excited to try some of Catherine Reitman's favorite dishes.

First up, a creamy burrata and country toast with sun-dried tomatoes with a fresh ricotta egg on top.

Followed by an egg raviolo in a brown butter crispy sage sauce.

CATHERINE: And here we are.

KATE: And here we are.

This restaurant is beautiful.

CATHERINE: Isn't it gorgeous?

KATE: Yes.

CATHERINE: I know.

I love the vibe so much.

KATE: So L.A. has so many amazing restaurants that you could've chosen but you chose Osteria Mozza CATHERINE: This is Osteria Mozza?

KATE: [laughs] It is.

CATHERINE REITMAN: Okay, this is not my choice.

KATE: Are we in the wrong spot?

CATHERINE: No offense to Nancy Silverton.

Lovely woman, but this is actually isn't working out.

KATE: We're ready to go.

CATHERINE: I love this place.

When I first came in here, I actually had a moment of emotion cause it just brings me back to the many, many years as an unemployed actress, where we couldn't even get a table cause this place is always hoppin' and we would sit up at the bar.

My boyfriend at the time, who's now my husband- KATE: And a co-star, I might add.

CATHERINE: And my co-star and the EP of Workin' Moms, Phillip, and uh, we would share the egg raviolo and talk about the dreams, that was that was the plan and to be here now 6 seasons deep it's just it's madness.

KATE: And the fact that it's Nancy Silverton.

CATHERINE: I just admire Nancy so much.

I mean, she's such a straightforward, brilliant woman and to achieve what she has in a world that- I mean, look, the restaurant world is a boy's club.

KATE: Sure it is.

CATHERINE: You know, to be a chef at her stature, to break through and be so well-respected I mean it says a lot about that woman.

KATE: Did you grow up in L.A.?

CATHERINE: I did.

I grew up in L.A. even though both my parents are Canadian, so I'm a Canadian-American.

KATE: You may recognize Catherine's parents, especially her dad.

Ivan Reitman is one of the most famous movie directors of all time.

He's the man behind so many favorites, Meatballs, Ghostbusters, Space Jam, and Animal House just to name a few.

KATE: Take me back to your childhood.

You grew up as the daughter of one of the most famous movie producers and directors of all time, Ivan Reitman.

What was that like, to have Ivan Reitman as your father?

CATHERINE: You know, I'm asked this a lot, and it's always kind of even as you just asked me, it's always sort of surprising to me only because as successful clearly as he has been, he's also just a really good dad.

You know, I mean to me he was just Dad and it wasn't until later in my life, even though ironically I grew up on sets, that as I was doing it myself and felt myself leaning on him constantly, asking for advice I realized how exceptional he is as both a father and an artist.

KATE: Did you always know you wanted to do something in Hollywood or when did you realize oh maybe I want to be an actress or maybe I want to be a producer or director?

CATHERINE: Yeah, I'm pretty annoying.

I knew really little that I wanted to act.

It wasn't even act.

I knew I wanted to make people laugh.

That was important right out the gate.

We would sit down for dinner and regardless of the tensions of the day, which every family of 4, 5 have.

I was the court jester.

I was looking for ways to ease the tension and bring some levity into any circumstances and- KATE: You were the funny one.

CATHERINE: I don't know if I was the funny one, but I was trying to be the funny one.

And I sort of learned on a very tough audience, my family, how to get laughs.

And even to this day, my husband laughs because we'll go to dinner with my parents and I'll try to tell a story and be funny, and my dad will be like "get to it."

[Kate laughs] CATHERINE: And I'm like, "sorry, yes."

And my husband's like- KATE: Shorter, tell it in a shorter amount of time.

CATHERINE: Here's the line, get to it.

Come on.

The point's right here...

So it's helped me quite a bit.

KATE: After college at USC, Catherine followed her calling for comedy.

She joined the Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy troupe with a reputation for launching some really big careers in comedy like Will Ferrell, Lisa Kudrow, Melissa McCarthy, and Kristen Wiig.

Comedy and improv?

CATHERINE: It's a comedy, sketch comedy improv show that you sort of go through several levels, basic, intermediate, advanced and- Hi, thank you so much.

And eventually you get to the point where you're performing every Sunday a new show every week, which is kind of the same format as SNL, and I learned so much in that period and simultaneously I was auditioning and failing.

I just wasn't booking a damn thing.

It was uh both frustrating and very illuminating.

KATE: You're going for audition after audition, and you're not booking anything.

CATHERINE: Not much.

I mean, you know the occasional funny best friend, villainous girl.

I think for confident women in our industry, you're usually cast as the quirky friend.

KATE: Right.

I was getting so sick of it, and I gave birth to my first son, Jackson.

KATE: Here Catherine was, trying to catch a break in Hollywood and balance the demands of being a first time mom, and then one day on the set of an indie film in Philadelphia it all snowballed.

CATHERINE: It was my first Mother's Day away from my son, and we were shooting a movie in Philadelphia and one of them cracked a joke like uh "Happy Mother's Day" and I just started hysterically crying in front of these guys and they did not know how to handle it.

KATE: And you're on set?

CATHERINE: I'm on set, and it was awkward and sad and funny and I remember in that moment, that moment that's in the pilot episode of my show, thinking "oh this is something, this is something I haven't seen yet and I want to explore this."

KATE: So that awkward, uncomfortable moment that you felt you realized this could be something meaning a bigger TV show or the plot of something?

CATHERINE: It was just hysterical, and I called my husband back at home, and I say "God, I feel broken.

I feel like I don't um, I don't have what I used to have.

I don't have the sparkle anymore.

I don't have the drive.

I'm not all these things that I used to define myself by."

KATE: Mm.

And he said, "I think what you're saying is really interesting and I've never seen it."

And I'm like, "Well, of course no one's seen it.

We're not allowed to talk about it."

[Kate laughs] And he's like, "I think you should write something about this."

KATE: So she did.

Catherine wrote what she knew: the painfully real yet sometimes hilarious situations that moms find themselves in.

Workin' Moms is a truth-telling comedy that delves into the lives of a group of 30 something's trying to juggle it all.

There's the funny moments like breastfeeding mishaps, Sharpie incidents, and the scramble when your child care falls through, and then there's the darker side of motherhood, postpartum depression, questions of identity, and staying relevant in your career.

Wow, that is beautiful.

CATHERINE: What do we have here?

This looks like a delicious- is it burrata on top of some- KATE: Toast, some country french, rustic bread.

CATHERINE: Signature Silverton sourdough, I hope.

KATE: Yes.

CATHERINE: A little sun-dried tomato and olive oil.

KATE: Ah, that looks incredible.

CATHERINE: Nothing like talking about postpartum depression over some burrata and country toast, am I right?

KATE: Am I right?

You are right.

Oh, that's hilarious.

CATHERINE: Give yourself some of the sun-dried tomato.

Don't rob yourself.

It's the best, it's the zest she wants you to have.

KATE: Yes, it is.

CATHERINE: Maybe a little teamwork, teamwork.

KATE: Yeah, teamwork.

Here we go.

CATHERINE: Alright I'm just going to do this.

What's that?

What's that?

There we go.

KATE: Can you talk a little bit about your decision after getting rejected as an actress to begin to write?

Because I think that is really amazing and incredible because what it did is it, it put the power into your own hands literally the pen.

CATHERINE: Absolutely.

I mean, I think for most women in particular that I know taking that step feels like something you're not entitled to, but I felt that I, I had no business coming in and writing and telling these stories even though they were my stories, and I think in some ways I hid behind that.

I thought "Okay well, I'm not being some brilliant writer, I'm just telling the story that happened to me."

KATE: As it turns out, Catherine's day-to-day realities are something a lot of families could relate to.

CATHERINE: And then, this wild thing happened where fast forward, the show came out, particularly when it came out on Netflix, women were stopping me on the street and they weren't just being like "Oh hey, you were really funny on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

They were saying "Your show has changed me.

I feel seen."

And that's something that, you know, my imposter syndrome, it went on fire.

I just realized it doesn't matter how good I am.

It's about the stories.

That's all that matters.

KATE: You were literally telling the stories of thousands of women that they've never seen on screen.

CATHERINE: I always, I get asked a lot about like, you know, why is Workin' Moms successful, and I'm always... it always throws me off because it feels like this show had to happen whether it was me or somebody else I do believe that the show had to happen and was going to happen.

KATE: Take me from when you created the sizzle and you are shopping Workin' Moms.

How hard was it?

How difficult was it?

What was it like to get that first yes?

CATHERINE: Oh my God, impossible.

We got literally passed on by every network initially, except for FX.

And we wrote it for FX, but they were looking for something different, and it wasn't quite the right fit for them so the rights reverted back to us.

And then, we were in Toronto for the Toronto Film Festival, and my dad said "You know, while you're here you should shop it around.

You're Canadian.

KATE: Right.

CATHERINE: You know, they might be looking for something.

They're far more open-minded here."

And I was like, you're not wrong.

And I brought it to Sally Catto at the CBC, who I credit for... my career.

KATE: Hmm.

CATHERINE: Just a brilliant executive over there.

And she green-lit it to series.

Changed my life.

KATE: How- what was that like moment when you found that out?

What was that like?

CATHERINE: It was insane.

I mean, we were just speaking about how women so often actually can be, you know, the opposite of our ally, and here was this woman who was cheerleading me because she saw something in my story that was authentic, that she related to, that she knew other women would relate to and she pushed it forward.

KATE: And the power of telling her own story had a ripple effect, leading Catherine to this Ted Talk.

CATHERINE: Guys, whatever voice you've been gifted with, and it is a gift, I'm here not to encourage but to demand that you at least consider it.

Because why not you baby?

Enter the arena.

KATE: Viewers weren't the only ones to take notice.

The critics agreed that Workin' Moms was a hit.

In 2018 and 2019, the half-hour, single-camera comedy earned a Best Comedy International Emmy nomination.

In 2019, the show was nominated 9 times at the Canadian Screen Awards.

CATHERINE: My first season of Workin' Moms where- look I'd never show run anything, I'd never started anything, not to this level.

And I remember just thinking, I just gotta make the show that I'd want to watch.

You know?

I just gotta make something that for 22 minutes is something that would captivate me.

My kind of humor, my kind of real, and that's what got me through it.

KATE: You could've written a million different plots, a million different TV shows, but it was the one that was the closest to your own story that actually brought you extreme success.

What does that say?

CATHERINE: That's a good- I mean, yeah, it's- it also it's so empowering to think that if you just actually tell your most authentic story, that is what is going to reverberate through other people, right?

KATE: Yes, I think that's really, really powerful.

In Workin' Moms, Catherine plays Kate Foster, a mom on a mission to grow her career as a big-shot PR executive while also raising her family.

It's not too far off from her real life.

Catherine isn't just starring in her show, she's showrunning it, meaning she's responsible for managing the creative and logistics for the entire series.

It is an enormous job.

What was that first year of being a showrunner?

You know, you, you know, you, you are a new writer, you got it green lit.

What was the first season of actually showrunning, creating and producing the show?

CATHERINE: To be totally honest, I had a bit of a blackout experience.

I mean, the terror of- I was going through postpartum depression, I had a 3-month-old at home, my milk production had completely stopped meaning I couldn't breastfeed my child, I had never showrun, I had never written anything to this level, and I had 150 employees looking at me saying "What next?"

And so it's a bit of like, you just, you are working on an adrenaline level you can't believe.

KATE: When you are sitting down to write Workin' Moms, there are so many things, so many different scenes and scenarios that you could write about.

Where do you draw inspiration and where do you find what actually makes it into the show?

[snickers] CATHERINE: I mean my kids for one, poor people.

These poor boys are going to have so much therapy.

I mean, I definitely take from my experience with them as a mother.

Um, but I mean, if you watch the show, it's- it's actually not so much about motherhood and much more just about being women in this current climate and how to navigate that.

And so, you know, unfortunately villains can be found everywhere: co-workers, friends, mommy and me groups, husbands.

There's obstacles everywhere you look, so content really shows itself to me pretty readily.

KATE: And you create characters that are flawed but hilarious.

CATHERINE: The goal was to create these characters in the most realistic light.

Kate, Jenny, Frankie, and Anne are all based off of my flaws.

KATE: Hmm.

CATHERINE: That was sort of the jumping off point about these characters.

So whether it was Kate my ambition, Anne my anger, Jenny my vanity, Frankie my sort of lost girl, all these aspects of myself flushed out into three dimensional characters.

KATE: Oh, that's fascinating.

I didn't realize it was different aspects of your own personality.

CATHERINE: Aren't I fascinating?

[laughing] CATHERINE: Oh, now we're talking.

KATE: Now we're talking.

Yes, bring it on in.

Wow!

CATHERINE: Look at this.

KATE: Look at that brown butter.

Thank you so much.

CATHERINE: Let's just party with this for a second.

Look at the sage leaves just soaked to the bone in butter, perfectly seasoned.

Let's just do a little sniff here.

I mean... KATE: Heaven.

What's it like now that your husband is on set with you, helping to produce, helping to star in Workin' Moms.

What's it like working with him?

CATHERINE: Oh my God, it's amazing.

I mean, Philip is and happens to be an exceptional actor, he would never say that about himself, but he is and he's a really good teammate.

He's someone you want in the foxhole with you, truly.

Like uh...

I think the obvious hard parts about working with your husband is, every time you fail they witness it.

Right?

Like you go to work each day, if you don't work with your husband or with your partner, you get to go home and "How was your day, honey?"

KATE: Right.

CATHERINE: You know, you can sort of like- KATE: Complain.

You get to complain and explain, yes.

CATHERINE: Exactly, but if someone's there witnessing where you had a misstep, it's a lot harder.

But they also witness your biggest victories.

Phil has seen me shine and fail and everything in between.

KATE: Hmm, that's awesome.

That is, that's awesome.

CATHERINE: You want to do the honors here?

KATE: I will.

I will separate this, it's almost- CATHERINE: It's so fun, but you gotta get a little bit of the sage.

I'm just gonna, I know, I know this is an interview but let's not mess around here.

And that color of that yolk when it's orange like that, those are some happy hens.

KATE: That's a farm fresh egg.

CATHERINE: That is a farm fresh egg.

KATE: Yes, okay let's try this.

CATHERINE: And now there's some ricotta in here.

KATE: Oof!

This is not a lot of food though, Catherine.

You and your husband- CATHERINE: Look, I'm very lean.

I'm always camera ready.

CATHERINE: Cheers.

KATE: Cheers.

CATHERINE: That does take me back.

KATE: That's incredible.

CATHERINE: Isn't that good?

KATE: Yeah, that's really good.

The egg raviolo in a brown butter sage sauce is classic Nancy Silverton.

It's the kind of one dish plated perfection that makes you want to return to a restaurant over and over.

I don't know if I could come here and not get this.

It's just so delicious.

CATHERINE: I know.

I dream about it.

Since I've been in Toronto, I literally think back and go "When are we going to get back to that bar," and Phil's like "Honey, we're getting a table next time we go."

KATE: [laughs] We're not sitting at the bar.

We're getting a reservation.

We're sitting at a table.

CATHERINE: That's right.

KATE: I really do want to talk about postpartum depression because... CATHERINE: Yes.

KATE: I really feel like in a way that stage of your life was the inspiration for the show, that difficulty of that moment- CATHERINE: Absolutely.

KATE: -is what brought Workin' Moms to life, and I was wondering if you could share a little bit about what it was like at that moment, you'd gotten a job as an actress, you had just had a baby and just kind of what that felt like?

CATHERINE: I was part of a mommy and me group and I had a six-month-old, and I kept having this fantasy that I've been driving in my car and I was like what if a bus hit my car?

Didn't kill me, Kate.

Didn't kill me.

Just put me in a hospital, legs up, food brought to me everyday, just a one week, 10-day break, right?

Where I could just take a brain-dead vacation, and it was this fantasy, this reocurring fantasy.

KATE: A dark fantasy.

[laughs] CATHERINE: Super dark, super dark.

And when I pitched it to my mommy and me group, similar to how I just did for you.

They looked at me with no laughter and just stared at me like I was crazy.

And I remember looking around being like "Hold up, I'm paying for this."

[Kate laughs] CATHERINE: This is a strange sorority.

I mean, I'm paying for this in the hopes that I can find like-minded individuals willing to go there.

KATE: Yeah, to feel understood.

CATHERINE: Phsst!

KATE: Not in this group.

CATHERINE: And on the walk back to my car, one of the women in the group said to me.

"You know," you know like looking around, "I uh, I felt things like that before, and I'm on medication for it.

And I shouldn't be breastfeeding, but I really want to feel connected to my kids so I'm still breast-" And there was this long explanation where I remember thinking "Hold the phone.

This is the real conversation- KATE: Right, this- CATHERINE: We're doing this quietly on the way to the car."

KATE: Right.

Isn't that interesting?

CATHERINE: Ugh.

I was fascinated by it.

And so, we went for it.

I of course did have postpartum.

Now it's being told that I had postpartum anxiety, at the time that wasn't even a label.

KATE: Right.

There wasn't a differentiation between postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety.

CATHERINE: Something I get help for in season 1, in hindsight, when it came out in Netflix three seasons later, people were saying "Oh this is, this is postpartum anxiety."

What you've written for the character of Frankie, which was based upon my own experiences.

It's what I was told I had, postpartum depression.

And I also had it with my second kid, some chicks are just lucky.

KATE: [laughs] So when you think about what's next for you.

I mean, here you are in the thick, you've done six seasons of Workin' Moms.

Uh, would you like it to just keep going, what are you thinking as far as like the big vision for your career?

CATHERINE: I mean, as far as Workin' Moms, I'm no dope.

I mean, to have a show that works, that clicks with the audience, where the cast and crew you know it's- we love each other, it works.

Uh, I would love to ride this train as long as we don't overstay our welcome, as long as the stories are still... good.

You know, I have the, you know, the good fortune of sitting in the writers room and if we were ever to sit there and go, "Are we stretching this thing?"

I don't think I would want to tell those stories no more.

You know, not looking to take advantage of it, but as long as we can think of wonderful things to say and then we'll tell them.

KATE: And what about your life as a mom?

What have you learned through this whole process about... being a present mom and- CATHERINE: That I'm very bad at it.

[Kate laughs] CATHERINE: I mean, but it goes back to your former question, which is like if you're constantly thinking about how people will think of "Catherine Reitman" or who you are.

If I think about what my children will think about me when they turn sixteen and they're eventually allowed to watch my show, I would stop in my tracks right now.

You can't burden yourself with everyone else's idea of who you are, you just have to be the most honest version of who you are and that does require being present.

KATE: Thank you for this amazing conversation.

CATHERINE: Oh, thank you!

KATE: It was an absolute treat to dine with Catherine Reitman.

She is as funny and relatable as the characters she creates.

She's a testament to going for it, to banking on yourself and figuring it out as you go.

There is a magic to making people laugh, especially when they're in the midst of hard times.

This is one working mom, who with her own talent and energy not only created a dream career for herself, who wrote the part only she could play, but she's making us all feel a little better about one of the toughest jobs on the planet.

♪ KATE: If you would like to know more about the guests, the restaurants, and the inspiring stories of success, please visit todinefortv.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram at To Dine For TV.

We also have a podcast, To Dine For the podcast is available on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... ANNOUNCER: There are people in your life who count on you for what matters most.

American National agents are close to home and committed to our communities.

They'll help you find the right coverage for you, your family, even your farm and business.

You can learn more at americannational.com.

♪