Tag Archives: Blood and Water

Blood and Water, Kim's Convenience, Second Jen

Link: Asian Canadian female stars tackle identity and invisibility on Canadian TV

From Craig Takeuchi of The Georgia Strait:

Link: Asian-Canadian female stars tackle identity and invisibility on Canadian TV
An auspicious event has occurred in Canadian TV: a virtual Asian Canadian Joy Luck Club has formed.

At the metaphorical mahjong table, in the seat of the South Wind is Blood and Water’s Steph Song, who plays gutsy Vancouver detective Jo Bradley. The ambitious cop headed up a case involving a powerful real-estate billionaire and his family in the first eight episodes of the multilingual OMNI Television crime drama. She delves even further into the investigation—as well as her own family history and her cancer treatment—in the next eight episodes, which start on November 13. Continue reading.

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Blood and Water

Link: Actor Steph Song finds her Asian Canadian identity reflected in Blood and Water

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From Craig Takeuchi of The Georgia Strait:

Link: Actor Steph Song finds her Asian Canadian identity reflected in Blood and Water
“As a woman in this industry, you’re constantly looking for strong female characters, and I know that it’s even more important for me as an Asian girl because you know that whole idea of Asian submissiveness and how Asian women are perceived, it was nice to use a battering ram and kill that one.” Continue reading. 

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Blood and Water

New episodes of Blood and Water premiere Nov. 13 on OMNI Television

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From a media release:

OMNI Television’s gritty, original crime drama series Blood and Water returns with eight new half-hour episodes of Season One, premiering Sunday, Nov. 13 at 10:30 p.m. ET (check local listings). Produced in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, this next block of episodes follows Detective Jo Bradley (Steph Song) on an all-new murder case, entrenched in a mysterious web of lies leading back to the Xie family.

In the next eight episodes, Detective Evan Ong (Byron Mann, The Big Short), a decorated police hero formerly of the Guns and Gangs Unit, joins Detective Jo (Song) as they’re thrust back into the Xie family orbit. Following the death of his two sons, Ron Xie (Oscar Hsu) faces a power struggle when his company is held under siege by his former partner and his partner’s son, played by new cast member, Telly Liu (The Man with the Iron Fists). On a personal level, Jo finds herself on a quest to discover her biological family, one that stuns her and sets her on a dangerous, unpredictable journey of self-discovery.

Also, returning for the second block are Elfina Luk (Helix), Oscar Hsu (The Girlfriend Experience), Fiona Fu (The Man in the High Castle), and Loretta Yu (Between), with new cast member Aidan Devine (The Girlfriend Experience).

Written by Diane Boehme, Al Kratina, Dan Trotta and Simu Liu, Blood and Water is directed by Gail Harvey (Murdoch Mysteries, Lost Girl, Heartland) and Carl Bessai (Rehearsal, Sisters & Brothers, Fathers & Sons). Executive Producers are Ira Levy, Diane Boehme, Michael McGuigan, Malcolm Levy, Nat Abraham, Peter Williamson, Al Kratina and Dan Trotta. Ben Lu and Paula J. Smith are Producers.

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Blood and Water, Featured

Set visit: Cameras roll on new episodes of Blood and Water

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I’m constantly amazed when I visit the set of a television show. Take Blood and Water, for instance. It’s easy to walk by the nondescript building in Toronto’s Liberty Village, steps away from a GO Transit platform, and have absolutely no clue cameras are rolling.

Yet that’s where Omni’s police drama—as it did for Block 1—is camped out for 18 days of production on-set and some location before completing filming in Vancouver. The warren of hallways and open spaces in the former Inglis factory (Lost Girl filmed there too) serves as the Vancouver Police Department where Det. Jo Bradley (Steph Song) is working her latest case.

Picking up a year after the events of the first eight episodes, Jo has got a new partner in Det. Evan Ong (Byron Mann) and new boss in Lt. Barron (Aidan Devine). Song says things get interesting for Jo during the next set of stories—referred to as Block 2 rather than Season 2 due to the way funding was spread out—because of her history with one cop and thoughts about the other. What is obvious about Jo is she’s in a better place than we last saw her. Not that Jo is hopping on stage to perform standup anytime soon, but her personal life isn’t as dour.

A poster in the Vancouver Police Department set.
A poster in the Vancouver Police Department set.

There is, however, another crime to keep Jo and Evan busy in the Mandarin, Cantonese and English-speaking series.

“This block takes place in Ghost Month, and is tied to the first block because a ghost isn’t necessarily a physical manifestation of somebody who is dead,” creator, writer and executive producer Diane Boehme says. “We’re going to play with that. It’s also about what haunts you. It’s regret, it’s the thing you did that you shouldn’t have done or the thing that you should have and the things that remain unresolved. All of our characters are wrestling with that.” Ron Xie (Oscar Hsu) is also back and dealing not only with the loss of his sons, but a power struggle within his company.

Ghost Month isn’t the only thing haunting the cast: the challenge of learning Mandarin and Cantonese is a constant spectre hovering over many. Dialect coaches help the actors and actresses with pronunciation and to ensure the correct phrasing is used.

“I wish they just wrote everything from the first block, because I still have those lines locked away somewhere,” Loretta Yu says with a laugh. “It’s definitely a challenge because I’m working in three languages this year. It’s been stressful, but really good, and I’m up for the challenge.”

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Blood and Water

Principal photography on second block of Omni’s original Blood and Water begins

From a media release:

OMNI Television today announced the start of production on eight new half-hour episodes of original crime drama series, Blood and Water. Produced in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, Blood and Water stars Steph Song (Everything’s Gone Green) and follows a wealthy Vancouver family struck with grief after the death of their two sons. Produced by Breakthrough Entertainment, principal photography begins today in Toronto.

In the next eight episodes, Detective Jo Bradley (Steph Song) – newly returned to the Vancouver Homicide Squad following her cancer scare – is thrust back into the Xie family orbit along with new partner, Detective Evan Ong (Byron Mann), a decorated police hero formerly of the Guns and Gangs Unit. Following the death of his two sons, Ron Xie (Oscar Hsu) faces a power struggle when his company is held under siege by his former partner and his partner’s son, played by new cast member, Telly Liu (The Man with the Iron Fists).

Also, returning for the second block are Elfina Luk (Helix), Oscar Hsu (The Girlfriend Experience), Fiona Fu (The Man in the High Castle), and Loretta Yu (Between). Joining the cast are Byron Mann (The Big Short, Hell on Wheels), Aidan Devine (The Girlfriend Experience, October Gale), and Telly Liu.

Written by Diane Boehme, Al Kratina, Dan Trotta and Simu Liu, Blood and Water is directed by Gail Harvey (Murdoch Mysteries, Lost Girl, Heartland) and Carl Bessai (Rehearsal, Sisters & Brothers, Fathers & Sons). Executive Producers are Ira Levy, Diane Boehme, Michael McGuigan, Malcolm Levy, Nat Abraham and Peter Williamson. Al Kratina and Dan Trotta are Co-Executive producers and Paula J. Smith and Ben Lu are Producers.

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