Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

Acting is a tough profession in Toronto, what with agents, auditions, and landing roles. But it’s even harder when all the parts out there are white… and you’re not. You end up taking stereotypical roles like “Gang Member” if you’re Black, “Taxi Driver” if you’re South Asian, or “Angry Dim Sum Customer” if you’re Chinese. Sometimes it seem like they only call you is when they have to fill a quota. But things seem to be changing, with big-budget Hollywood action movies and rom coms featuring Black and Asian casts. Is this a sea change? Or will most actors remain just tokens?

Tokens is a satirical web series about actors of colour and what they have to go through just to get a role. Now in its second season, it brings in new controversial topics like white fragility, diversity quotas, and BLM protests, but dealt with in a humorous, tongue in cheek manner. With a large cast and just 8 minutes per episode, this fast-moving series keeps you guessing between laughs. The series was created by Writer/Director Winnie Jong, and stars Connie Wang as Sammie, a woman trying to make it big, and Ryan Allen as DeMar, her friend, competitor and erstwhile romantic interest. Winnie is an award-winning filmmaker and alumna of the Women In the Director’s Chair, and is known for TV shows like Coroner. Connie has had multiple screen nominations including the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance, and TV roles in shows like the The Boys. And Ryan is a star of stage and screen, with a leading part on Broadway in The Book of Mormon, and on TV in Titans, Star Trek and Between. 

I spoke with Winnie, Connie and Ryan in Toronto via ZOOM.

Tokens Season 2 will be launched on iTunes on Nov 29th, 2022.