TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 177
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Second Jen

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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Featured, Second Jen

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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Featured, Great Canadian Baking Show

The Great Canadian Baking Show: Judge Kyla Kennaley gets cooking in Season 4

Her Internet connection might be spotty, but judge Kyla Kennaley’s connection to the home bakers on The Great Canadian Baking Show isn’t. Kennaley, who is currently overseas in London, recently chatted with us online (via a persnickety connection) to talk about the newest season of CBC’s Sunday night confection.

Returning Sunday at 8 p.m., a new batch of 10 amateur bakers descended on the show’s tent to compete in weekly baking challenges under the gaze of judges Kennaley and Bruno Feldeisen, and new hosts Alan Shane Lewis and Ann Pornel. We dished with Kyla Kennaley on Baking Show, a resurgence of baking during the pandemic and her take on a controversial classic cake.

Before we talk about The Great Canadian Baking Show, what’s it been like to see so many people starting to bake during the pandemic?
Kyla Kennaley: I love it. I love that friends that I have kept in touch with loosely on Facebook since high school are sending me direct messages saying, ‘I’m feeding my sourdough starter, what do I do next?’ I love the engagement and that it’s connecting people.

What’s your take on Alan and Ann, the new hosts on the show?
KK: In Season 3, I thought I laughed more than I ever had in my life. And this year I learned, ‘No, there is another level.’ My only exercise is laughing and it kept me slim. They are hilarious and so engaged … and Alan is so tall. [Laughs.]

I’m always blown away by what the home bakers can do, and judging by what I’ve seen of Season 4, they are at another level.
KK: It’s phenomenal how talented the home bakers are. I had the luxury of a 2,000-square foot production kitchen and everything that I needed and I look at what they are doing in their homes and it blows my mind. The competition was tighter and I think it shows. They are constantly improving.

Do all of the home bakers come in with fully-formed recipes prepared? I assume they do, but that’s never expressly said during the show.
KK: Yes, and from what I understand they have to have their own version of the recipes. That’s a very important part of the show because it’s what it’s all about, and so the team can source their ingredients.

I find the red velvet cake to be a controversial one. Some people love it, and others hate it. What camp do you fall in?
KK: Because I had a café for 10 years and it was probably one of the most popular cakes at the time, being that it was the early 2000s. What I love about the recipe—and remember that I look at everything very technically and a purist when it comes to these things—is the story. It was invented at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the 30s when there was a shortage of ingredients and they were trying to make something impressive.

So, I think it’s apropos that, in a very difficult time, what it’s like to look around for ingredients. I’ve never, in my life, gone into a grocery store like I have this year and said, ‘Oh my gosh, there is no baking soda!’

Flavour-wise, I’m a lemon girl. Give me a lemon cake any day!

The Great Canadian Baking Show airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

OUTtv and Fuse announce premiere date and cast for Shine True

From a media release:

OUTtv, the world’s first and Canada’s only LGBTQ2+ television network and Fuse, the leading Latino-owned and managed media brand, announced today the premiere date and cast for new original series, Shine True.

Previously announced (with the working title Clothes Minded), Shine True is a co-production from OUTtv, Fuse Media and VICE Studios (Flee, Dark Side of the Ring, 1994). The series tracks the journeys of trans and non-binary young adults leading up to a big life event. Shine True is hosted by Canadian transgender musician, artist, activist and life-coach Lucas Silveira (The Cliks) and gender non-conforming influencer, activist and model Richie Shazam. Gender expression can be challenging to navigate for trans and non-binary young adults. In each episode, Lucas Silveira and Richie Shazam, along with mentors and role models, guide someone who is trans or gender non-conforming as they explore their inner identity and passions, which they convert into authentic self-expression and the ability to “Shine True.”

The half-hour series premieres on OUTtv in Canada and on Fuse in the U.S on Monday, March 22 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

The first season cast is made up entirely of young people from Canada and the U.S. They are (listed in alphabetical order, with their pronouns):

  • Azul (they/them) — confronts generational trauma and finds the “punk mariachi” within before their big art show.
  • Fran (they/them) — connects with their inner skaterboi, their Filipinx heritage, and surprises their girlfriend with a romantic date night for their first anniversary.
  • Jaden (they/them) — discovers ways to dress their new silhouette after recent top surgery, and then throws a New Moon party in Toronto to release the past.
  • Juan (they/them/he/him) — learns about queerness and gets in touch with his feminine side with a little help from the Latinx community in Georgetown, Ontario.
  • LaDon (he/him/she/her) — finds his inner diva on the south side of Chicago for a glamorous photoshoot with help from a drag legend.
  • Prism (they/them) — meets an inspiring fat activist in and surprises their friends with a name change party.
  • Ronnie (they/them) — gains a confidence boost and style upgrade to coincide with a new life chapter, inviting their Caribbean parents along for the ride.
  • T (he/him/they/them) — steps out of the bedroom studio in Toronto and onto the stage after conquering their fears of shopping and performing with a gender-bendy makeover.

To promote the series and drive viewers to tune-in via linear, the first episode will also be made available for free starting March 17 in Canada on OUTtvGo (outtvgo.com) and the U.S. on video-on-demand (VOD), as well as on select digital platforms including Fuse.tv.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Flat Out Food highlights Saskatchewan food, farmers and chefs

From a media release:

A new, made-in-Saskatchewan docuseries is putting homegrown ingredients, and everyone from local farmers, chefs and foragers, to Indigenous food sovereigntists in the spotlight.

Flat Out Food is a six-episode documentary series that traces unique Saskatchewan ingredients from the field (or forest) to the plate, hosted by journalist and author Jenn Sharp. Flat Out Food is based on her 2020 book, Flat Out Delicious: Your Definitive Guide to Saskatchewan’s Food Artisans.

The docuseries visits a regenerative grain farmer, a beekeeper and even mushroom foraging chefs in an adventure that spans the province while exploring Saskatchewan’s diverse agriculture and local food scene. Each episode ends with a stunning meal created using the highlighted ingredient.

Saskatoon chefs Jenni Lessard (Wanuskewin Heritage Park) Thayne Robstad and Beth Rogers, owners of Hearth and Regina’s Milton Rebello (Skye Café & Bistro) are a few of the local chefs that join Sharp on her quest to gain a deeper appreciation for ingredients like lentils, chanterelles, fiddleheads, nettles, bison and more.

Flat Out Food is produced by Regina-based HalterMedia, owned by Adrian Halter. The series was filmed in over a dozen locations all over the province. Nearly the entire production and post-production team are from or are living in Saskatchewan.

The first episode airs February 24 at 10 pm CST on Citytv Saskatchewan and streams online at citytv.com. The timing couldn’t be more perfect as food-lovers across the country celebrate Canada’s Agriculture Day and food producers on February 23.

Flat Out Food is produced by HalterMedia Inc. in association with Citytv Saskatchewan and Rogers Media Inc. with assistance from the Canada Media Fund and Creative Saskatchewan.

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