Tag Archives: Omni Television

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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Industry News

OMNI Television original Mangoes: A Slice of Life joins programming slate, premiering Nov. 11

From a media release:

Friendship is a bond that knows no borders. Based on the popular web series Mangoes, Mangoes: A Slice of Life tells a globally relevant story with a uniquely Canadian perspective. It follows the adventures of three millennials with South Asian backgrounds as they explore the true potential of life in Canada, premiering Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on OMNI Television (check local listings). Co-created, co-produced, and starring real-life brothers Adeel and Khurram Suhrwardy as Sami and Rakay, respectively, the six all-new 30-minute episodes are available in English, Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi for OMNI’s multicultural audiences.

Mangoes: A Slice of Life follows the adventures, emotions and experiences of three unlikely friends, including Asha (Maha Warsi), a fiercely independent woman and psychology student from India; Sami (Adeel Suhrwardy), a sensitive, well-educated immigrant from Pakistan struggling to find a job in his field; and Rakay (Khurram Suhrwardy), a hopeless romantic – and often irresponsible – MBA student from Pakistan. Picking up two years after the web series dropped off, the new episodes see dramatic developments as Asha gets engaged to be married, Sami lands a job at a corporate firm, and Rakay settles down from his loose lifestyle. Through unrelated events, the trio connect in Toronto and navigate the unfamiliar challenges of being a young immigrant in a new country.

Based on one of the world’s most-watched Canadian web series, Mangoes: A Slice of Life is filmed in Toronto and with its diverse cast, the series will continue to bring light to the shifting makeup of Canada’s urban centres and growing class of multicultural audiences.

Audiences will have access to full episodes on OMNITV.ca next day post-broadcast, as well as on Rogers on Demand.

Mangoes: A Slice of Life is produced in association with OMNI Television, a division of Rogers Media. Co-created and co-produced by Adeel Suhrwardy and Khurram Suhrwardy.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Blood and Water, Featured

Preview: Omni’s Blood and Water returns for fantastic second season

Blood and Water is one of the best—and groundbreaking—series on Canadian television. And, sadly, it’s been one of the hardest to find.

The second block of Season 1’s half-hour episodes were broadcast on Omni Television back in November of 2016 at 10:30 p.m. ET. Now Season 2 is set to bow … on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Omni. It’s hard enough to gain traction as a television show in this country. But to throw in an almost two-year absence coupled with a 7:30 p.m. timeslot? It’s a shame, really, because Breakthrough Entertainment, creator and executive producer Diane Boehme and the cast and crew have created something really special and unique in this drama.

Blood and Water is the first trilingual series (English, Mandarin and Cantonese) produced by Canadian television and was celebrating diversity in its cast and storylines before Kim’s Convenience made such a splash. (Fun fact: Kim’s actor Simu Liu starred in Season 1. Listen to his 2015 podcast chat, along with then co-star Loretta Yu, with Anthony Marco.)

But enough of my bitching. Let’s get into Season 2.

Friday’s new adventure begins with a bloody, cold-blooded murder and a phone call from Teresa Fai (Loretta Yu) to Detective Jo Bradley (Steph Song). Teresa’s boyfriend, Jimmy (Andy Yu) witnessed the killing of his uncle and is now on the run. Can she look for Jimmy before he’s killed too? Jo and Detective Evan Ong (Byron Mann) help Teresa and, quickly, they’re pulled back into a case that involves a mysterious envelope and, once again, Ron Xie (Oscar Hu).

I continue to be amazed at how much evolving story and character development Boehme and her team can pack into just over 22 minutes of broadcast time. Once again, Song and Mann crackle on-screen; you can’t look away when they share scenes. New this season are cast members in Yu, Amanda Zhou and Selena Lee. Lee is a Hong Kong-born Canadian actress who has collected a bunch of awards and is a stalwart of TVB in Hong Kong. She’s wonderful here as Michelle Chang, a deadly and complicated character who factors into Jo and Evan’s investigation.

Add in a soundtrack that hints at dread around every turn and a  dark, spooky visual palette—via director of photography Fraser Brown and director Felipe Rodriguez—and Blood and Water is a feast for the senses. Please watch the second season. You’ll be glad you did.

Blood and Water airs Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Omni Television.

Images courtesy of Rogers Media.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Blood and Water

Link: Original Chinese Canadian crime drama Blood and Water returns, beginning Sept. 9 on OMNI Television

From a media release:

Detective Josephine ‘Jo’ Bradley (Steph Song, Outsiders, War) is back on the case as Blood and Water, the Canadian Screen Award-nominee, returns for a compelling second season, beginning Sunday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on OMNI Television (check local listings). Starring Canadian Steph Song, the eight-part, 30-minute episode season sees another murder that spins Jo into a web of lies as she juggles family drama after returning home from China.

Season 2 rings in with a frantic phone call to Detective Jo Bradley from her friend, Teresa Fai (Loretta Yu, Save Me, Between), whose boyfriend Jimmy Lin (Andy Yu, Fargo, Bad Blood) is on the run after witnessing a brutal murder. But finding Jimmy will once again bring Jo and her partner Detective Evan Ong (Byron Mann, Skyscraper, Altered Carbon, The Big Short) into the orbit of Teresa’s father-in-law, ruthless billionaire Ron Xie (Oscar Hsu, The Recruit, Blindness) and the undertow of his dark secrets. The stakes escalate when Jo’s investigation forces Evan to make a fateful and, potentially, tragic decision.

The second season of Blood and Water features additional new cast members including Amanda Zhou (Fang Wang, Warrior) and award-winning Selena Lee (Michelle Chang, Spouse for House), winner of ‘Best Actress’ at the Los Angeles Film Awards, Los Angeles Movie Awards, and at the European Cinematography Awards. Selena Lee Sze-wa is a Hong Kong-born Canadian actress and former Miss Hong Kong 2003 contestant. Prior to entering the Miss Hong Kong pageant, Selena attended the University of Toronto, studying for a Bachelor of Business Commerce degree. She is now a popular actress with TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) in Hong Kong. Additional returning performers include: Elfina Luk (Anna Xie, Skyscraper), Fiona Fu (Weiran Xie, Power Rangers), B.C. Lee (Victor Li, Almost Human, Fringe), Maria Ricossa (Professor Colleen Bradley), and Aidan Devine (Lt. Dan Barron).

Audiences can catch-up on previous episodes on the OMNI Television website and on Rogers on Demand.

Breakthrough Entertainment produces Blood and Water in association with OMNI Television, a division of Rogers Media. Creator and Executive Producer is Diane Boehme, followed by Executive Producers Ira Levy, Michael McGuigan, Nat Abraham, Peter Williamson, Al Kratina, and Steph Song.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Second Jen

Links: Second Jen, Season 2

From Tamara Shephard of the Toronto Star:

Link: Second Jen’s multicultural cast resonates with actor Lovell Adams-Grey
Etobicoke-born-and-raised actor, writer and producer Lovell Adams-Gray fits right in with the multicultural cast of OMNI Television’s Second Jen. Continue reading.

From Dana Gee of the Vancouver Sun:

Link: Second Jen is back and taking aim at hot topics
“Our style of comedy can be a little larger than life; however, the kernels of all the stories are true. From the wall squirrels to growing pains of friendship, Amanda and I have pulled from events in our life or our friends’ lives.” Continue reading.

From Kelly Townsend of The TV Junkies:

Link: Second Jen creators Samantha Wan and Amanda Joy on navigating adulthood in Season 2
Leaving home is never easy, but one Canadian series is showing that the journey into adulthood can be just as fun and messy as it is stressful and overwhelming. Continue reading. 

From Peter Hendra of The Whig-Standard:

Link: Director takes a generational approach
“While I had done comedy, I think being a second-generation Filipino, (or) being second-generation Chinese, or being second-generation any immigrant group, there are things that are common with all of us, whether you’re male or female, gay or straight.” Continue reading.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail