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OMNI Regional Greenlights New Seasons of Critically Acclaimed Original Multicultural Series Blood and Water, Mangoes, and Second Jen

TORONTO (November 1, 2017) Following the successful launch of multilingual newscasts across the country, OMNI Regional is furthering its commitment to delivering premium multicultural Canadian content to communities across Canada by greenlighting brand-new seasons of original series Blood & Water, Mangoes, and Second Jen. Currently in various stages of development, the series are slated to air in 2018, with additional broadcast details to be announced at a later date.

L to R: The casts of Blood & Water, Second Jen, and Mangoes

Additional program information and images available at: RogersMediaTV.ca

“We are proud to share these critically acclaimed multicultural original series with even more audiences next year through OMNI Regional,” said Nataline Rodrigues, Director of Original Programming, Rogers Media. “We remain committed to delivering compelling, world-class Canadian content to our viewers that not only entertains but also reflects the diverse communities we serve. And whether it’s comedy, drama, or a bit of both you’re after, these three series truly offer something for everyone.”

With production scheduled to begin in November on eight new half-hour episodes, critically acclaimed and Canadian Screen Award-nominated OMNI original drama Blood & Water returns with a compelling new season. Jo Bradley (Steph Song) returns home from her dramatic departure to China at the end of Season 1 and, unable to face the reality of meeting her biological family, is back at work, living again with her former partner, and now estranged from her adopted mother, Colleen (Maria Ricossa). But it isn’t long before another murder brings Jo back into a web of lies and crime involving the Xie family dynasty.

Following an overwhelming response from South Asian audiences, the multilingual – featuring Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, and English – digital dramedy Mangoes joins the OMNI Regional programming lineup with six new half-hour episodes. From creators, stars, and brothers Adeel Suhrwardy and Khurram Suhrwardy, Mangoes is an invigorating tale of Canadian South Asian youth, capturing the optimism and potential of the younger generation living as ‘global citizens’ and intrepid individuals. New to Canada, Sami (Adeel Suhrwardy), Asha (Maha Warsi), and Rakey (Khurram Suhrwardy) are on a journey to explore, integrate, and contribute towards the building of their new home. Writing on the series is currently underway with production scheduled to begin in January.

And back with six all-new half-hour episodes is original comedy Second Jen, slated to air on both OMNI Regional and City in 2018. A diverse, female-driven comedy from creators and stars Amanda Joy and Samantha Wan, the series follows two second-generation Chinese and Filipino-Canadian millennials as they tackle even more “firsts” while branching out on their own in Toronto. Writing is currently underway with production scheduled to begin in January.

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About OMNI
OMNI™ is Canada’s only multilingual and multicultural television broadcaster, offering a wide range of ethnocultural and third language programming to the country’s diverse communities. OMNI is available in more than 11 million households across Canada through its five local over-the-air television stations in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto (OMNI.1 and OMNI.2) and its national speciality channel – OMNI Regional, which is comprised of four regional channels and is offered as part of all digital basic television packages throughout the country. In Quebec OMNI Regional has partnered with independent ethnic broadcaster, ICI Television, to offer French-language local programming to the province’s ethnic communities. OMNI offers a wide range of locally produced and acquired programming, including daily national news in Cantonese, Italian, Mandarin and Punjabi, current affairs programming and popular entertainment programming including Bollywood movies, Asian cinema, and Italian and Portuguese telenovelas. OMNI is part of Rogers Media Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI and NYSE: RCI), which is a diversified Canadian communications company. For more information visit OMNITV.ca.

Media Contacts
Stephanie Perron, [email protected], 647.278.6799
Charmaine Khan, [email protected], 416.277.0450