EXCLUSIVE: Jasmeet Raina, the creator and star of Late Bloomer, will make his directing debut in the Crave comedy’s second season.
Production on Season 2 recently got underway in the greater Toronto region, starring Raina as Jasmeet Dutta, a Punjabi Sikh millennial and burgeoning online content creator trying to balance his ambitions for success with his commitment to his family, community and culture. It is inspired by Raina’s life.
Co-executive producer Peter Huang is back to direct six of the season’s eight episode, with Raina directing the other two and also executive-producing. Pier 21 is producing in association with Crave.
Starring alongside Raina are Baljinder Singh Atwal (Des Pardes) and Sandeep Bali as Jasmeet’s parents, Ashley Ganger (Grand Army) as his sister, Sugenja Sri (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Sachin Mahashi as his friends and Ahamed Weinberg (Insecure) as a cousin. Seher Khot (Sex/Life) also returns in an expanded role.
“I’m so excited to have this opportunity to shoot another season of the show and to take these characters and their stories to deeper places,” said Raina, who is known as a popular content creator in Canada under the moniker Jus Reign.
“There is so much we want to keep exploring around the unseen racialized experience in North America and we’re going to keep pushing to take bold swings with the comedy. Stepping into directing this season is a new challenge for me which I am thrilled to take on.”
Raina was one of Much Digital Studios’ first content creators back in 2015. He became known for his deadpan comedic delivery and commentary on race and pop culture.
“Late Bloomer’s honest and comedic take on adulthood, seen through Jasmeet’s unique perspective, resonated with a wide audience. It was an easy decision to continue this thoughtful and funny story,” said Justin Stockman, Vice President, Content Development & Programming at Crave parent Bell Media. “We are excited by how the season is coming together and know Crave subscribers are going to love what’s in store for the Dutta family when the show returns in 2025.”
Also returning off camera are Shebli Zarghami as executive producer and showrunner, Lakna Edirisinghe as co-executive producer/writer and Gayle Ye as director of photography. Baljinder Dhawan is executive Producer, with Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler, and Vanessa Steinmetz serving in the same role for Pier 21 Films. Russell Peters and Clayton Peters are also executive producers and Robbie David is producer.
Show is made with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Bell Fund, and tax credit assistance from the Government of Ontario, and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. It is distributed internationally by Bell.
