Everything about Second Jen, eh?

Casting announced for CBC’s new original comedy Run the Burbs

From a media release:

With production underway in and around Toronto and Hamilton, CBC and Pier 21 Films are confirming casting for new, original comedy series RUN THE BURBS, from award-winning comedian, writer, and actor Andrew Phung and his best friend and collaborator filmmaker Scott Townend (The Secret Marathon).

Premiering on CBC and CBC Gem in Winter 2022, Phung executive produces, writes, and stars in the series as a stay-at-home dad – Andrew Pham – living and loving with his entrepreneurial, executive wife and two kids. The Phams are a young, bold Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family taking a different approach to living life to the fullest, while changing the way we think about contemporary family values and life in the burbs.

Joining Phung on screen forming the balance of the Pham family are actor and comedian Rakhee Morzaria (Note to Self, Private Eyes) playing Andrew’s wife Camille Pham; and rising young stars Zoriah Wong (Nancy Drew) and Roman Pesino (Odd Squad) as their children Khia and Leo Pham. The Pham fam are joined in the burbs by a cast of friends, family, and neighbours played by an illustrious roster of Canadian talent including Ali Hassan (CBC’s Laugh Out Loud) as Camille’s father Ramesh, YouTube sensation Julie Nolke (Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self) as Camille’s best friend Sam, Jonathan Langdon (Utopia Falls) as next door neighbour Hudson, Simone Miller (Detention Adventure) as Hudson’s daughter Mannix, Samantha Wan (Second Jen) as local bubble tea café owner Cathy, Candy Palmater (The Candy Show) as neighbour Candy, comedian Chris Locke (Workin’ Moms, Mr. D) as neighbour Sebastian, and Baroness von Sketch Show’s Aurora Browne as neighbourhood permit assassin Barb.

“We set out to make a show that goes big. To showcase a family that truly supports one another while going all out every week. It’s a bit of a throwback to classic family sitcoms in the burbs, but with a family that you’ve never seen reflected on television before,” comments Townend.

“We are so hyped and proud of this incredible group of performers that have joined us on this journey. We are introducing Canada to some amazingly talented new faces they may not have met before – including the amazing Rakhee Morzaria – alongside comedy rockstars like Ali Hassan, Aurora Brown, and Candy Palmater – they are all going to blow audiences away and take on the burbs like no one has before. We’re honoured to have this opportunity and it’s been our absolute pleasure working with CBC, Pier 21 Films, and Endeavor Content as we bring Run the Burbs to life,” adds Phung.

Pier 21 Films Executive Producer Laszlo Barna adds, “We are so fortunate to be working with such a talented cast led by our star and co-creator Andrew Phung. We can’t wait for the world to join us in the burbs and meet the Phams and their unforgettable friends and neighbours.”

“We are so excited to watch Andrew’s deeply personal story about family come to life through this remarkable cast and creative team,” said Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual and Sports, CBC. “RUN THE BURBS authentically reflects how Canadians are building new communities in suburbs across the country, and we can’t wait to share it with audiences this winter.”

A CBC original series, RUN THE BURBS is produced by Pier 21 Films. As announced earlier this year, Endeavor Content has picked up the international sales rights. Executive Producers are Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler and Bill Lundy (for Pier 21 Films), Andrew Phung, Scott Townend, and Aleysa Young. Shebli Zarghami serves as Executive Producer and Showrunner. Jessica Daniel is producer. Co-Executive Producers are Matt Kippen and Wendy Litner. Nelu Handa is Consulting Producer. Season One directors include Aleysa Young, Peter Wellington, Joyce Wong, Melanie Orr, and Justin Wu.

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Second Jen ends after three seasons on Omni

Jen and Mo have said goodbye. After three seasons on Omni, Second Jen will not be back for a fourth.

“It is bittersweet for us to announce that this has been the last season of Second Jen,” co-creators, co-executive producers and stars Amanda Joy and Samantha Wan, and showrunner Carly Heffernan posted on social media following the show’s Sunday season finale. “Thank you to everyone who has supported us. Thank you for the love and laughter over the years.”

“We leave Jen and Mo in a place that feels good; where they’ve grown, and learned, and come into their own,” the post continued. “We are so happy to have shared their journey with all of you. In many ways, their story has echoed our own.”

Read the rest of the post.

Over the course of three seasons, Second Jen centred on best friends Jen (Wan) and Mo (Joy) who banded together to tackle life’s ups-and-downs in Toronto.

Nominated for Best Comedy at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards, the Season 3 cast included Nile Séguin, Janet Lo, Timothy Lai, Richard Tse, Tina Jung, Isabel Kanaan and Andrew Bushell. Guest stars included Andrew Phung, Ken Hall, Deb McGrath, Kathryn Greenwood, Ann Pornel, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll and Kathleen Phillips.

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Links: Second Jen, Season 3

From Agnes Constante of Inquirer.net:

Link: ‘Second Jen’ sitcom homes in on Asian Canadian life
Amanda Joy remembers being on stage in front of an audience during a live pitch contest several years ago. She and her friend had an idea for a show centred around people of colour that they wanted to bring to life. But they were told that nobody would want to watch it. Continue reading.

From Janis Cleugh of Tricity News:

Link: ‘Second Jen’ returns Sunday for Port Moody grad
Samantha Wan remembers her first year at Heritage Woods secondary. She was one of hundreds of students in the inaugural Grade 9 cohort at the Port Moody high school, a new building that also included a 325-seat professional theatre. Continue reading.

From Nikki Gill of TRNTO:

Link: Amanda Joy on her road to creating TV series Second Jen
Here we look back at a profile on Joy from 2016 just before she launched the series. Continue reading.

From Mike Adler of Toronto.com:

Link: Scarborough sitcom star Amanda Joy tries the Home of Empanada and Hopia
Here we look back at a profile on Joy from 2016 just before she launched the series. Continue reading.

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Second Jen: Amanda Joy previews Season 3

What makes Second Jen so enjoyable is its portrayal of relatable moments.

Part of Sunday’s Season 3 return episode—airing at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Omni—shows a team building exercise that is painfully similar to one I was a part of recently. It was cringe-inducing and uncomfortable at times, just like what Second Jen shows. It’s been part of Second Jen‘s DNA since Day 1.

“I like to start with a premise that speaks to something deeper to me,” says co-creator, co-executive producer, writer/story editor and star Amanda Joy, who wrote three of the season’s six episodes. “Something that speaks to my experience either with my family or something that deeply affects me as an artist and as a person.” That can be anything from workplace discrimination to—she explains with a laugh—being “well over the age of 19” and having her ID checked at the liquor store.

The 2019 Canadian Screen Awards Best Comedy nominee once again explores the friendship between Jennifer “Jen” Wu (co-creator, co-executive producer, writer and director Samantha Wan) and Jennifer “Mo” Monteloyola (Joy). Storylines this season include an exploration of female empowerment, corporate diversity initiatives and family therapy.

Intimacy and relationships are investigated as well. For Mo, that means love interest Scout (Isabel Kanaan); for Jen, it’s Riley (Andrew Bushell).

“[Mo and Scout] are a really fun pairing,” Joy teases. “Mo has been a character who has had these love interests and has always wanted to pursue them and then, for whatever reason, they don’t work out. It’s going to be more interesting because Mo is in a more stable part of her life.”

Family has been a mainstay of Second Jen, and that’s true in Season 3. Joy points to the season finale as being particularly poignant when Mo’s family comes to visit from the Philippines.

“Having more of a Filipino presence, of Filipino culture and more of the Filipino family was something that I’ve been pushing for from the very beginning,” Joy says. “This episode is the culmination of the seeds we’ve been planting throughout the series, of Mo missing this piece of herself and what that feels like. Episode 6 is about finding what it means to be a family when you are all so separated. It was such a joy to write and such a joy to see come to life.”

Second Jen airs Sundays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Omni.

Image courtesy of Rogers Media.

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Second Jen Season 3 premieres February 14 on OMNI TV

From a media release:

Produced by Don Ferguson Productions in association with Rogers Sports & Media, Second Jen Season 3 premieres Sunday, Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m. local time on OMNI Television with six all-new episodes. Co-created, co-executive produced, and starring Amanda Joy and Samantha Wan, Second Jen centres on best friends Jen and Mo who band together to tackle life’s ups-and-downs in Toronto. Whether it’s “yellow fever” or internet trolls, these heroines fight life’s dumpster fires together.

Nominated for Best Comedy at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards, Second Jen jumps back into the frenzied friendship of Jennifer “Jen” Wu (played by Samantha Wan) and Jennifer “Mo” Monteloyola (played by Amanda Joy) to prove that the third time is most definitely the charm. Season 3 ups the stakes by exploring hot-button subjects, in stories that only Second Jen can tell. Topics this season include female empowerment, corporate diversity initiatives, intimacy and relationships, and family therapy from an authentic and hilarious point-of-view.

Second Jen once again features an all-female creative team, and a diverse crew behind the camera. Amanda Joy continues to serve as writer/story editor, penning three of six episodes this season. Samantha Wan continues as a writer and directs three episodes this season. Carly Heffernan returns as showrunner, head writer, and directs three episodes this season. Kathleen Phillips serves as story editor.

Returning this season are Alister (Nile Séguin, The Beaverton), Bunny (Janet Lo, Pay The Ghost), Eric (Timothy Lai, Beauty & the Beast), and Harold (Richard Tse, Baroness Von Sketch), who are joined by new characters including Jen’s glamorous influencer cousin Vicky (Tina Jung, Make It Pop), and love interests Scout (Isabel Kanaan, Tita Collective) for Mo, and Riley (Andrew Bushell, The Wedding Planners) for Jen. Guest stars this season include Canadian comedy legends Andrew Phung (Kim’s Convenience), Ken Hall (The Umbrella Academy), Deb McGrath (The Second City), Kathryn Greenwood (Women Fully Clothed), Ann Pornel (The Great Canadian Baking Show), Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll (Hudson & Rex, Baroness Von Sketch) and Kathleen Phillips (Sunnyside, Mr. D).

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