''Second Jen'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that premiered on

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

on October 27, 2016. The series is produced by Don Ferguson Productions and stars

Amanda Joy Amanda Joy is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, comedian, satirist, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring in the Omni Television original series ''Second Jen''. Early life and education Joy studied vocal music at Cardinal ...

and

Samantha Wan Samantha Wan (born 1990 or 1991) is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, producer, and web series creator. She is known for co-creating, writing, and starring in the City television series '' Second Jen''. Since 2017, she has starred in the Global T ...

as Mo and Jen,"Second Jen starts rolling"
'' Playback'', July 21, 2016. two young East Asian Canadian women experiencing the ups and downs of being independent after moving out of their parents' homes for the first time. Joy and Wan are also co-creators and writers for the series. Following its release in 2016, the series received mixed reviews. In 2018,

Omni Television Omni Television (stylized as OMNI Television) is a Canadian television system and specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It currently consists of all six of Canada's conventional multicultural ...

announced it had commissioned a second season. It premiered on August 4, 2018. On February 8, 2019, the second season was nominated for Best Comedy Series by the

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals, most notably through the Canadian Scre ...

. The third and final season premiered February 14, 2021.

Cast and characters

as Jennifer 'Mo' Monteloyola *

as Jennifer 'Jen' Wu *

Munro Chambers Munro Chambers (born July 29, 1990) is a Canadian actor who is best known for his roles as Wilder on ''The Latest Buzz'' (2007–2010), Elijah "Eli" Goldsworthy on '' Degrassi'' (2010–2015), Frankie Chandler on ''Lockwood'' (2016–present) an ...

as Nate (Season 1) *

Al Mukadam Al Mukadam (born Ali Mukaddam; April 6, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his performance as Ray Brennan in the Family Channel television series ''Radio Free Roscoe'' (2003–2005). Career Mukadam started his career very young and st ...

as Lewis (Season 1) * Janet Lo as Bunny *

Atticus Mitchell Atticus Dean Mitchell (born 1993) is a Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Benny Weir in the television film ''My Babysitter's a Vampire'' and series of the same name, and Gabe in the film ''Radio Rebel''. Early life ...

as Garth (Season 1) * Nile Seguin as Alister * Lily Gao as Karen *

Lovell Adams-Gray Lovell Adams-Gray is a Canadian actor.Tamara Shephard"Second Jen’s multicultural cast resonates with actor Lovell Adams-Gray" ''Toronto Star'', August 2, 2018. He is best known for the role of Dru Tejada in '' Power Book II: Ghost'', and his ...

as Marcus (Season 2) * Oscar Moreno as Diego * Andrew Bushell as Riley (Season 3) * Isabel Kanaan as Scout (Season 3)

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2

Season 3

Development

Show creators Amanda Joy and Samantha Wan met on the set of the 2014 film '' Devil's Mile''. Tired of auditioning for the same stereotypical East Asian roles, they discussed creating their own work together. Joy and Wan stated that their show was originally rejected at an unnamed Canadian pitch contest. It later went on to win Best Television Pitch at NexTV L.A. in 2013, before being picked up for development with

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

. Joy wrote the original pilot script, with Wan directing alongside Joseph O'Brien.http://www.vmacch.ca/alpha/archives/documents/film2014.pdf The original spec pilot screened at Toronto's Reelworld Film Festival in 2014, as well as Toronto's Asian Heritage Month.

Reception

Prior to the release of the show, Tony Wong of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' published an article declaring ''Second Jen'' "groundbreaking" in its depiction of two female East Asian leads "as if we had already arrived in a post-racial world." Brad Oswald of the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'' praised ''Second Jen'', calling it "Sharp, funny, slightly cheeky and smartly in tune with this country’s diverse demographic mix." Oswald wrote that "while it’s fair to say that attitude plays a bit part in this likable series’ early success, there are actually several elements that make ''Second Jen'' a must-see production." Oswald also praised the strength of the cast noting that Joy and Wan are particularly "likeable and relatable" in the lead roles of Jen and Mo. ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

'''s Will Sloan complimented the show's light-hearted tone. He noted that, while "not necessarily laugh out loud funny," ''Second Jen'' is a pleasant watch, with strong moments carried by "the likability of its goofy cast, and the familiar streets, bars and houses of its Little Italy setting." Sloan also praised Joy and Wan's performances, calling them breakout stars. Brad Wheeler of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' hailed the show as "A Laverne & Shirley for the Digital Age" as it stars "two sparky second-generation Asian-Canadian millennial women coming of age in an era so economically challenging that Laverne and Shirley would be crying in their beers instead of merrily goofing off at the bottling plant." In contrast, John Doyle, also of ''

'', panned the show, calling it "light, slight, silly and only occasionally outright funny ..''Second Jen'' is notable for having two female Asian lead characters but it is not notable, nor funny, as a comedy."

References

External links

* {{City Network Shows (current and upcoming) Citytv original programming 2021 Canadian television series endings Omni Television original programming 2016 Canadian television series debuts 2010s Canadian sitcoms 2020s Canadian sitcoms English-language television shows