Katie, a frustrated cable news producer, is horrified when her mom, Carol, gets an internship at "The Breakdown." Despite Katie's best efforts, Carol is instantly beloved by the entire office, including blowhard veteran anchor Chuck. But when Katie hits a roadblock while producing a big story, she realizes that maybe having a mom at work isn't such a bad thing.
Katie tries to set workplace boundaries with Carol, but when a big story about an escaped bear lands in her lap, her mom can't help but meddle. Meanwhile, Greg tries to get Chuck and Portia to do a little friendly banter at the end of the show.
Chuck is having cataract surgery and, for the first time ever, must miss a day of work. Carol, eager to shirk her overwhelming intern duties, offers to take care of him. Meanwhile, Katie is excited for a peaceful day but with Chuck gone, Greg is reluctant to be the bad guy. As a result, "The Breakdown" descends into chaos as Greg is forced to say yes to Portia, Justin and everyone else's "great ideas for the show."
Katie's secret war reporter boyfriend, Trip, is back in town and working at the MMN offices. Despite Katie's best efforts, Carol quickly uncovers the covert relationship using a plan she stole from "Days of Our Lives". Meanwhile, Chuck, feeling threatened by Trip, is determined to return to the field. Greg and Justin support the idea until they find footage of Chuck's time as a war reporter in the '90s.
After organizing a poorly attended staff karaoke night, Carol is convinced that everyone at "The Breakdown" needs some office bonding time. When Greg (Adam Campbell) refuses to help, Carol enlists the help of God, causing a huge snowstorm to trap everyone in the building overnight. Chuck takes an interest in working with Katie, which Portia convinces Katie is romantic. Carol saves the day when she breaks into the offices of competitor "Morning Wined Up with Kelly and Mary Kelly" and steals all the morning show's wine.
When a field reporter at "The Breakdown" is exposed as an arsonist, Katie gets an opportunity to appear on the air. Carol, embracing the role of stage mom, becomes obsessed with propelling Katie to fame. Katie must choose between her personal ambitions and making her mother happy. Meanwhile, Chuck, jealous of Portia's many creative pursuits, tries to compose a new theme song for the show.
Carol is excited when Chuck asks her to wait for the cable guy at his townhouse, until Chuck gives an ominous warning that tests her curiosity. Meanwhile, Portia's phone gets hacked and Katie struggles not to read her private emails.
Katie secretly investigates a celebrity phone hacking ring behind Greg's back. In Katie's absence, Carol falls into producing a piece on her favorite phone game, "Biscuit Blitz." Meanwhile, Chuck gets in hot water when Portia accuses him of mansplaining.
Carol has a midterm she must pass in order to keep her internship. Katie needs to choose between helping her mom and focusing on her hacking story, which she can't seem to crack. Meanwhile, Greg's wealthy estranged grandmother pays a visit to the office. Chuck finds her cold and cruel, but almost immediately falls in love with her.
Katie makes a huge discovery about the story she's been chasing and, with the help of Carol and the rest of the staff, concocts a scheme to get the story out. Greg struggles with balancing his conflicting loyalties to his family, co-workers and conscience.
MMN's meteorologist debunks some common weather myths.
"The Breakdown" gets a new boss, Diana St. Tropez, a tough business lady with big plans to bring their outdated news program into the 21st century. Katie is thrilled since this is exactly the kind of strong, professional female role model she hoped for, but Carol is immediately wary of this new influence in Katie's life. Meanwhile, Chuck has trouble adapting to Diana's idea for a new panel segment of screaming pundits.
Diana sets Katie off on a mission to take the job at the station that she wants, but when Katie tries to be executive producer for the day, she soon realizes that Greg has it much harder than she realized. Meanwhile, Carol uses Greg and Katie's workplace competition as an opportunity to push the two of them together. After Diana insults Portia on a women-in-business panel, Portia declares a "squad feud" that forces their two very different worlds together.
Diana has been promoted again, this time to the head of the corporation that owns MMN, but before she leaves she finds herself embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal. This leaves Katie unsure who to believe - her mentor or her friends in the office. Carol becomes head intern and struggles to prove to the other interns, and herself, that she deserves the job.
For the first time in years, "The Breakdown" has been nominated for an American Journalism Award. Katie is looking forward to spending the night as a peer with the very reporters she has admired her whole life. Fearing her mother will ruin it, Katie tries to stop Carol from attending but is unsuccessful when Carol secures a position as a seat-filler. Katie is stuck babysitting her mom all night but gets distracted by Jeremy, a handsome New York Times reporter who looks down on cable news. Chuck is excited to reunite with all of his old anchormen friends, especially Len Archer.
Katie realizes that while she has been working her way up at MMN, her friends, including Jessica, have been getting married, having kids, and buying houses in New Jersey. Feeling pressure to impress them on Instagram with the hip New York City lifestyle that she has chosen instead, she lucks into going to a very cool Halloween party with Portia. Meanwhile, Chuck has been asked to use a new smart screen on the show, and in an attempt to get out of this seemingly impossible task, tries to convince Carol that it is possessed.
Jeremy invites Katie to do some "real reporting" and go on a stakeout with him. Carol is suspicious and kidnaps Greg to stake out the stakeout. The two discover that it may not be all business between Jeremy and Katie. Chuck meets Carvell, who is Portia's fiancé, and the two of them form an unlikely friendship.
Carol finds herself in a reverse "Christmas Carol" during which she learns that she has too much Christmas spirit and is driving everyone around her insane. Meanwhile, Chuck's estranged son, Petey, visits the office and Katie, who has been charged with babysitting him, tries to get the father and son to reconnect.
Carol and Chuck don't think they should have to attend Sensitivity Training and decide to teach the rest of the "snowflakes in the office" a lesson. Katie is excited about her new boyfriend, Jeremy, but Portia suspects Katie might just be a sidepiece.
Carol is devastated to learn that her parents are getting a divorce after 70 years of marriage. Katie, still hurting from her breakup with Jeremy, is convinced that love is dead, but Carol is determined to prove that it's never too late to have a happy ending. Meanwhile, Chuck discovers that the reason for Justin's newfound happiness is the cute new barista at the coffee shop and proceeds to compete for her affection at the expense of his and Justin's friendship.
Carol hatches a plan to get Katie to admit her feelings for her boss; Chuck finds himself an unwitting champion of the alt-right.
When "The Breakdown" staff finds themselves embroiled in a lawsuit with eccentric billionaire Fenton Pelt, Chuck is convinced he can solve the problem. But when Chuck's attempts to save the show backfire, he enlists the gang's help to pull off an elaborate heist. Meanwhile, after realizing that she has feelings for Greg, Katie is determined not to make a move on her unavailable boss. Her intentions are put to the test, however, when Diana St. Tropez demands that the two spend the night together fact-checking a story.
After an explosive fight with her daughter, Carol is excited about her new position at "Morning Wined Up," but is disappointed to realize that the job offers less responsibility than she had hoped. Katie is determined to bring down Fenton Pelt, the billionaire suing "The Breakdown," despite specific orders from Greg and the network's attorney to leave him alone. When Katie's rousing speech about journalistic integrity fails to inspire anyone but Chuck, who has been suspended from the show, she reluctantly joins forces, only to find that his investigative skills aren't what they used to be.
Diana St. Tropez returns with good news for "The Breakdown" staff: Fenton Pelt has agreed to drop his lawsuit on the condition that Chuck Pierce deliver a humiliating on-air apology and resign from news forever. Chuck, defeated, agrees, until Portia reminds him why he got into journalism in the first place. With Chuck's final broadcast approaching, Katie convinces Carol to reunite for one last job, and they race against the clock to find the one person in New Jersey who could disprove Fenton Pelt's claims and save the show.
