When I export a smart album to a catalog, that new catalog is super buggy and crashes

When I export a smart album to a new catalog, that new catalog is super buggy and crashes the moment I click on almost anything. 

I can go into more detail... but that's basically it. Smart Album, export as new catalog.... open that catalog and it crashes if I try to edit any photo or click on anything. 

OK... more detail:
My computer: M1 Mac mini with 16GB RAM, latest version of C1, latest version of macOS. Cat file is on internal storage with 300GB of available space, image files are on a Drobo that's connected via USB.

My other catalog files work fine with this setup... just not the ones I create from ~ Smart Album > Export as new catalog. The catalog opens fine but crashes instantly, 100% of the time, when I click on something.