All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Second Jen

Links: Second Jen

From Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Second Jen: A Laverne & Shirley for the digital age
Twentysomethings Joy and Wan are the creators, writers and stars of Second Jen, an original City sitcom about two sparky second-generation Asian-Canadian millennial women coming of age in an era so economically challenging that Laverne and Shirley would be crying in their beers instead of merrily goofing off at the bottling plant. Continue reading. 

From The Suburban:

Second Jen series focuses on the Asian-Canadian experience
“It’s a story about 20-something women-of-colour, created by 20-something women-of-colour – which is unique in and of itself. The best comedy comes from writing from your own experience, and there are so many things that young women and people of colour uniquely experience.” Continue reading.

From Arti Patel of The Huffington Post Canada:

New Canadian series Second Jen isn’t just an “Asian show”
A new Canadian comedy series wants to make one thing clear: it isn’t just an “Asian show.”

“Second Jen” is about two second-generation millennial women growing up with immigrant families.

Starring 26-year-old Chinese-Canadian actress Samantha Wan and Filipino-Canadian actress Amanda Joy, the show is reflective not only of their own experiences, but of many Canadians who grew up in Asian households. Continue reading. 

From Brad Oswald of the Winnipeg Free Press:

Amusing autumn ahead
Sharp, funny, slightly cheeky and smartly in tune with this country’s diverse demographic mix, Second Jen has been touted in some quarters as groundbreaking because it features two young Asian-Canadians in its lead roles. Continue reading.

From Fannie Sunshine of the North York Mirror:

Shot and set in Toronto, Second Jen airs Thursdays on City
Like most young people, the path to adulthood might begin with finding an apartment with a friend, finding a job, and finding a significant other.

And if that’s not daunting enough, add in cultural and generational issues to boot. Continue reading.

 

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Second Jen

Link: Samantha Wan and Amanda Joy debut culturally diverse Canadian sitcom ‘Second Jen’

From Robert Ballantyne of PopJournalism:

Link: Samantha Wan and Amanda Joy debut culturally diverse Canadian sitcom ‘Second Jen’
Four years ago — before Samantha Wan and Amanda Joy had fully formed the idea that would become City’s new sitcom Second Jen — they took the stage at a Canadian pitch contest and tried to sell an autobiographical comedy series that would explore the stories of the second generation and their families.

The judges were really not interested in their pitch. Continue reading. 

 

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Second Jen

Link: Second Jen’s diversity is good, but its comedy is mediocre

1 Comment

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Second Jen’s diversity is good, but its comedy is mediocre
Second Jen (CITY-TV, 8:30 p.m.) is a new comedy and it falls into the mediocre category. Nice try, though. As in trying too hard to be nice. It’s a very slight comedy, and on the evidence of the first two episodes it’s a one-note idea that is beaten to a near-pulp of puerility through endless repetition of the same theme.

And in the matter of new Canadian TV, it is especially important to have trepidation when approaching a show that’s billed in advance as groundbreaking. Nobody has actually broken ground in Canadian TV for years. Continue reading.

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Second Jen

Link: Second Jen and the rise of actor-written TV

From Jaime Weinman of Macleans:

Link: Second Jen and the rise of actor-written TV
Television might be moving past the idea that actors act and writers write. Second Jen, a new comedy series premiering on City TV on Oct. 27, is the story of two young Asian-Canadian women who move into an apartment together, and the two leads, Amanda Joy and Samantha Wan, are also the creators of the show. Continue reading.

 

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The Romeo Section

Link: Fei Ren talks character and craft in The Romeo Section + “Seeds of War” preview

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Fei Ren talks character and craft in The Romeo Section + “Seeds of War” preview
“The language was written so differently, without abbreviations, formally structured, and more period than contemporary. That’s another challenge. I feel like I’m doing a period piece and [I want] to make it natural and relatable to the modern world. It’s such a great learning experience.” Continue reading.

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