Production Underway on New Crave Original Comedy, LATE BLOOMER

TORONTO (April 21, 2023) – Crave, in association with Pier 21 Films, announced today that production is underway in Toronto and Hamilton on the all-new comedy series, LATE BLOOMER. Created by and starring Jasmeet Raina (Jus Reign), the eight-part series, which is inspired by Raina’s life as a Punjabi Sikh millennial and online celebrity, follows burgeoning content creator Jasmeet Dutta as he tries to balance his ambitions for success with his commitment to his family, community, and culture. Raina is joined onscreen by an ensemble cast including Baljinder Singh Atwal (DES PARDES) and Sandeep Bali as Jasmeet’s parents, Gurdeep and Supinder; Ashley Ganger (GRAND ARMY) as Jasmeet’s sister, Maanvi; Sugenja Sri (THE HANDMAID’S TALE) and Sachin Mahashi as friends, Chippy and Sunny; and Ahamed Weinberg (INSECURE) as cousin, Neal. “I’m looking forward to this next step in my storytelling and filmmaking endeavours, showcasing South Asian perspectives that mainstream audiences have yet to see,” said Raina. “We couldn’t be more excited to share with global audiences and fans of Jus Reign a brilliant and surprising new side of Jasmeet through LATE BLOOMER,” said Nicole Butler, Executive Producer, Pier 21 Films. “We’re very fortunate to have Bell Media as our partner. Their long-standing support of Jasmeet and his vision for this series has been invaluable.” “We are thrilled to build on our successful partnership with Jasmeet with LATE BLOOMER, and to help efforts to increase South Asian representation on screens,” said Justin Stockman, Vice President, Content Development and Programming, Bell Media. “Jasmeet is a singular talent, and we look forward to bringing his unique perspective to Crave.” Under the moniker Jus Reign, Raina reached global audiences across social media, including YouTube, and was one of Much Digital Studios’ first content creators in 2015. Raina became known for his deadpan comedic style and commentary on race and pop culture, and is part of a group of storytellers who charted the way for increased South Asian representation in mainstream media. LATE BLOOMER is produced by Pier 21 Films, in association with Bell Media, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, Rogers Cable Network Fund, the Bell Fund, and tax credit assistance from of the Government of Ontario, and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and is distributed internationally by Cineflix Rights. Jasmeet Singh Raina is Executive Producer, Star, and Creator, and Baljinder Dhawan is Executive Producer. Shebli Zarghami is Executive Producer and Showrunner. Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler, Karen Tsang, and Vanessa Steinmetz serve as Executive Producers for Pier 21 Films and Robbie David is Series Producer. Lakna Edirisinghe is Co-Executive Producer. Consulting Producers are Russell Peters, Clayton Peters, and Peter Huang, who also serves as Director for the series. For Bell Media, Mike McShane is Director of Digital Development, Original Programming; Rachel Goldstein-Couto is Head of Development, Original Programming; Production Executive is Chris Kelley; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production, Original Programming; Carlyn Klebuc is General Manager, Original Programming; Justin Stockman is Vice President, Content Development & Programming; and Karine Moses is Senior Vice President, Content Development & News.