Blood and Water: First mainstream Chinese crime drama to make history

OMNI Television Brings Canadians its First Original, Chinese Crime Drama Blood and Water, Beginning Nov. 8

– Filmed and set in Vancouver, this Chinese crime drama series is available in Mandarin, Cantonese and English –

– The eight-part, 30-minute series is produced by Breakthrough Entertainment, with development on Season 2 already underway –

TORONTO (September 30, 2015) OMNI Television today announced broadcast details for the new, original series Blood and Water – a compelling, character-driven, crime drama that delves into the secrets and lies of a tightly-knit family. This half-hour, eight-part crime drama premieres with two back-to-back episodes Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, and will air regularly Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OMNI Television (check local listings) with episodes airing next day on www.OMNITV.ca.

Produced in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, Blood and Waterfollows the story of Jo Bradley (Steph Song, Everything’s Gone Green), an ambitious young detective who overcomes her personal challenges in order to find the killer of a Vancouver billionaire’s troubled son.

“We are so proud to be the first Canadian broadcaster to bring a home-grown mainstream Chinese crime drama series to our audiences,” said Colette Watson, Vice President of Television & Broadcast Operations, Rogers. “With a complex storyline and well-developed characters, Blood and Water is a drama that will resonate not only with language audiences, but with all Canadians. We believe so much in the appeal of this series that development is already underway on Season 2.”

In the premiere episode, after Jo is hit with an unexpected diagnosis of cancer, she is given the assignment of lead detective in a complicated homicide. The drug addicted son of a prominent family has turned up dead and ritualistically buried in the endowment lands. With everything at stake, the pressure is on for Jo to quickly solve the crime and make the department look good in this high profile case, before the clock runs out.

“We are thrilled by the support of OMNI Television for this gritty and unique series,” said Diane Boehme, Executive Producer, Breakthrough Entertainment. “It’s been a privilege to have the opportunity and encouragement to take so many chances with our story. And it’s been an honour to showcase this remarkably talented cast and crew at the top of their game.”

Directed by noted Canadian director John L’Ecuyer (Curtis’s Charm),Blood and Water stars Peter Outerbridge( Orphan Black), ElfinaLuk, Fiona Fu, Simu Liu, Oscar Hsu, Loretta Yu, OsricChau, and Russell Yuen, with special appearances by Stuart Hughes, Joel Keller, Morgan Kelly, Maria Ricossa, Victor Chiu, and Richard Chevolleau.

Executive producers are Nat Abraham, Diane Boehme, Ira Levy, Michael McGuigan, and Peter Williamson. The series is produced by Yipeng Ben Lu and Neil Bregman, written by Al Kratina and Dan Trotta, and edited by Paul Winestock and Victor C.H. Fan. 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 Broadcast.

About Breakthrough Entertainment

Headquartered in Toronto, Breakthrough Entertainment Inc. (BEI) is a world class studio, being a leading global producer and distributor of acclaimed primetime comedy and drama series, as well as factual entertainment, documentaries, television movies, feature films, family entertainment and children’s animation. As one of Canada’s largest television production and distribution companies, BEI has licensed programs to major broadcasters in over 200 territories. With a catalogue of over 3000 half-hours of programming, the company handles distribution as well as worldwide pre-sales, co-productions and third-party acquisitions. In addition to its dedicated program development, production and distribution divisions, Breakthrough’s digital media division ranks among one of the industry’s most respected producers

About OMNI

OMNI^™ is a free, over-the-air multilingual/multicultural television system committed to reflecting Canada’s diversity by broadcasting an array of ethnocultural programming, serving multiple language communities. With five television stations – in BC; Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton) and Ontario (OMNI.1 and OMNI.2) – OMNI has a combined reach to 22.7 million people across Canada. With locally produced diversity programs, OMNI also delivers star–studded international series and films, including Bollywood blockbusters, Asian Cinema, as well as Italian and Portuguese telenovelas. For more information visit www.OMNItv.ca.

Media Contacts:

Charmaine Khan, OMNI Television, 416.764.3191, [email protected]

Lilian Chen, HWMG, 604.669.8282, [email protected]

Press release approved by Hamazaki Wong Marketing Group.