''Tokens'' is a Canadian

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

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created by Winnifred Jong and produced along with Trinni Franke. The series premiered on

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and

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on May 6, 2019. It also stayed on ''

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'' for the first season and was later sold to Urbanflix TV. ''Tokens'' follows the lives of the actors of an "on call" casting agency who are dispatched to productions in order to fulfill diversity quotas. The series stars Connie Wang, Ryan Allen and

Shelley Thompson Shelley Thompson (born March 9, 1959) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her character Barbara Lahey on the hit mockumentary program ''Trailer Park Boys''. Biography Born in Calgary, Alberta, Shelley trained at RADA in London and w ...

. As of October 2019, ''Tokens'' has amassed more than 500,000 combined views across Facebook and YouTube.

Plot

The series follows the actors of On Call Casting, a fictional agency designed to help busy production companies meet their mandated diversity quotas. Dispatcher Betty sends out whoever is on call, with the actors often finding themselves cast in the roles they least expect.

Cast and characters

Main

* Connie Wang as Sammie Pang, an aspiring actress who joins On Call Casting in the hopes that she will find acting work beyond stereotypical token roles, despite the growing disapproval of her traditional parents. * Ryan Allen as DeMar Lowry, a stunt coordinator-turned-actor who befriends Sammie after joining On Call Casting. *

as Betty, the eccentric, entrepreneurial dispatcher of On Call Casting.

Recurring

Jessica Greco Jessica Greco (born June 26th, 1980) is a Canadian actress and comedian best known for playing Karen Thurston, the dead teenage daughter of a chemical factory worker, in the 1997 television adaptation of the ''Goosebumps'' book '' Welcome to Dead ...

as Jessica AD *

Daniel Maslany Daniel Joseph Maslany () is a Canadian actor, producer and composer. He is known for playing Bondurant Smit in CBC's offbeat and absurd comedy series '' Four in the Morning'', Llewelynn Watts in the series ''Murdoch Mysteries'' and Townes Linder ...

as Dennis AD * Chelsea Clark as Roxy * Krystal Kiran as Priya * Christina Song as Vivian, Sammie's Mom * Russell Yuen as Bob, Sammie's Dad *

Jonathan Cherry Jonathan Cherry (born February 3, 1977) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Rory Peters in the supernatural horror film ''Final Destination 2'' (2003). His other notable film roles include '' House of the Dead'' (2003) and ''G ...

as Director #1 * Sharron Matthews as Director #2 *

Amy Matysio Amy Matysio is a Canadian theatre, television and film actress. Early life and education Matysion was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre (Performance) from the University of Regina and has also studied at Y ...

as the Producer * Ted Stokes as the Cinematographer *

Samora Smallwood Samora Smallwood is a Canadian actress and writer. She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Actress in a television film or miniseries at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 for her performance in the Lifetime television film ''Death ...

as Jenn the Costumer * Sedina Fiati as Ese the Makeup Artist * Tyssen Smith as the College Brat

Guest

*Fuad Ahmed (credited as Gabe Grey) as Vasant *Andrew James McMichael as the Production Assistant *Abigail Nadeau as the Bored Ballet Dancer * Ehren Kassam as Kruger the Driver * Ella Jonas Farlinger as Teen Betty *

Stephanie Morgenstern Stephanie Morgenstern is a Canadian actress, filmmaker, and screenwriter for television and film. She has worked extensively on stage, film, and television in both English and French. Her most widely seen feature film credits have been '' The S ...

as the Casting Assistant *Leigh Cameron as Captain Anjelika *Sergey Volkov as Traktor *Tom Melissis as Director #3 *Julia Huang as Sammie's Niece *Daniela Saioni as Director #4 *Jeananne Goossen as Casting Director Voice

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Production

The first season of ''Tokens'' was funded through the

Telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Talent-To-Watch program and the

Bell Fund The Bell Fund (formerly the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund) is an independent private Canadian fund that finances interactive digital content associated with Canadian television programs owned by Bell. These digital extensions can include thing ...

. The series received additional funding through sponsorships from William F. White International and Grandé Camera (formerly Dazmo Camera).

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

took place in November 2018 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. In February 2019, ''Tokens'' creator Winnifred Jong and producer Trinni Franke participated in the Prime Time Throwdown pitch competition at the 2019 Prime Time in Ottawa conference, where they were awarded in-kind marketing services to support the release of the first season. The series premiered to a sold-out audience at the

TIFF Bell Lightbox TIFF Bell Lightbox is a cultural centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the first five floors of the Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower on the north west corner of King Street and John Street. TIFF Bell Lightbox features five cinemas, two ...

on May 6, 2019, the same day the first season was released worldwide on

and

Reception

''Tokens'' has received praise for its

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

depiction of the issues of

tokenism Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality wit ...

and representation in the entertainment industry. Critics have noted the cultural relevance of the show's themes, with Greg David of ''TV, Eh?'' writing "''Tokens'' couldn’t be more timely. Or scathingly on point." In a

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

review, Melissa Hank remarked that the series "tackles Hollywood diversity with grace and humour." Spring Marie Cullen of ''Starry Constellation Magazine'' wrote "it's smart, it's funny and it takes a unique look at the entertainment industry," concluding that "anyone who considers themselves a dreamer, no matter what career avenue they're headed down, will find enjoyment in this series." Writing for ''The TV Junkies'', Bridget Liszewski described ''Tokens'' as "a funny, bold, tongue-in-cheek look at issues of diversity, inclusion, and representation." As of July 2020, the first season of ''Tokens'' has been selected to screen at T.O. WebFest, Minnesota WebFest, NYC Web Fest, Bilbao Seriesland, NZ Web Fest, the Asia Web Awards, Santa Monica Webfest, Bogotá Web Fest, Apulia Web Fest, Miami Web Fest, Copenhagen Web Fest, New Jersey Web Fest, Santa Monica Webfest, DC Web Fest, Seoul Webfest, and Oakville Film Festival. It boldly became the first short form series to be nominated as Best Ensemble at the 2020 ACTRA Awards, competing with ''Kim's Convenience'', ''Baroness von Sketch'', ''Anne with an E'' and the eventual winner, ''Schitt's Creek''. It was nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards in 2020, where Winnifred Jong won for Best Direction, Web Program or Series.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Tokens
official site * * *{{IMDb title, tt6933020 Canadian comedy web series Canadian Screen Award winning digital content 2019 web series debuts