Tag Archives: Omni

Link: Fresh Blood

From Michael Pickard of Drama Quarterly:

Link: Fresh Blood
“We do have a very large Asian population in Canada. There’s quite a large Asian audience in British Columbia and Ontario where we have two major footholds and we wanted to cater to this audience. We have a lot of acquired international features and dramas for the Asian community but we have so much talent here in the country, we wanted to break new ground with a new multilingual drama.” Continue reading.

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Omni’s Blood and Water is back with new episodes … and brighter days?

Wait, what’s this we spot? Is that really Det. Jo Bradley (Steph Song) smiling in the above photo? She certainly didn’t have a lot to be jovial about by the end of Blood and Water‘s first block of eight episodes. After all, two dead Xie sons and a cancer scare isn’t the stuff of good times. So, why is Jo grinning when Blood and Water returns to Omni on Sunday?

“Jo is a lot freer in these episodes,” Song says during a break in filming. “We find Jo one year cancer-free, so she’s feeling good about life and has faced down that demon and is perhaps more liberated. She’s coming back to work and has a new partner and is maybe a little attracted to him. We get to see a different side to Jo Bradley.”

She’s still a razor-sharp detective, something Jo draws on during an all-new murder case involving the Xie’s. Gone is Peter Outerbridge’s Det. Al Gorski, replaced by Det. Evan Ong (Bryon Mann); he and Jo are drawn into Ron Zie’s (Oscar Hsu) world when a murdered woman tied to the late Charlie Xie turns the spotlight back on the beleaguered family, who are fighting to keep control of their business as interested buyers circle.

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Along for the adventure is returning cast Elfina Luk, Fiona Fu and Loretta Yu; Aidan Devine checks in not only as Jo’s boss but the third part of a love triangle. Awkward.

Once again presented in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, Blood and Water, executive producer Diane Boehme says the second block of episodes explores ghosts and what haunts you; regret and wrong decisions are experienced by the characters. For Ron Xie, it’s the family secret he tried to keep hidden that, ultimately, blew up in his face. Daughter Anna (Luk) has left town and, perhaps, found love. As for Jo? Boehme teases that she begins to receive mysterious letters written in Chinese. As they’re translated, Jo realizes they’re from her biological family, who want to connect with her. Jo, rightly so, is conflicted.

“All that stuff comes out for her,” Boehme says. “The regret of what she might have been.”

Blood and Water airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET on Omni.

Images courtesy of Rogers Media.

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

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

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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City’s Second Jen in Production

From a media release:

Production is underway on the original scripted comedy series Second Jen. The 30-minute, 6-part series from Don Ferguson Productions (DFP) began shooting July 5 in Toronto. Production continues until July 28, 2016. The series will roll out as a digital-first release on Citytv.com in August and join the City and Omni Television 2016/2017 prime-time schedule in the fall.

Second Jen is an ensemble comedy about two second-generation Chinese and Filipino-Canadian millennials experiencing all of life’s “firsts”. Caught between cultures and generations, two best friends move to their own apartment to prove to their immigrant families, and themselves, that they can make it on their own. Together, Mo and Jen straddle the gap between adulthood and childhood, between taking on family tradition and creating their own. With each step towards independence, Mo and Jen learn the sobering truth about growing up – everyone is faking it.

The series stars co-creators Amanda Joy (Devil’s Mile, Anxietyville) and Samantha Wan (Sudden Master, Ruby Skye P.I.) as best friends Mo and Jen, with Al Mukadam (Spun Out, Miss Sloane) as Lewis and Munro Chambers (Turbo Kid, Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Nate. Rounding out the cast are: Atticus Mitchell (Fargo, Young Drunk Punk) as Mo’s boss Garth; Nile Seguin (Winnipeg Comedy Festival, In The Ladies Room) as Mo’s co-worker Alister; and Janet Lo (Madam Mao, Pay the Ghost), Richard Tse (Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, Payday) and Timothy Lai (Heroes Reborn, Rookie Blue) as Jen’s mom Bunny, dad Harold and brother Eric.

The series is written by Amanda Joy, Samantha Wan, Kevin Wallace (Air Farce, Comedy Bar) and Carly Heffernan (The Hour, SketchersonsTV) and directed by Romeo Candido (Ang pamana: The Inheritance, Prison Dancer: The Musical).

Second Jen is produced by Don Ferguson Productions (DFP) in association with Rogers. Helming the project is showrunner Jeff Biederman, who also acts as executive producer alongside Don Ferguson, Lucy Stewart and Kevin Wallis. From Rogers Media, Nataline Rodrigues is Director of Original Programming, Hayden Mindell is Vice President of Television Programming & Content and Colette Watson is Vice President of Television and Broadcast Operations.

Photo by Oz John.

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