Tag Archives: Steph Song

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.

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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.

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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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