Episode 290: ‘Sort Of’ star Bilal Baig

The YVR Screen Scene Podcast

Sort Of is sort of a big deal to a lot of people, but especially to Trans, non-binary, and genderqueer people who have long yearned for honest and entertaining representation on Canadian screens. Sort Of stars Bilal Baig as Sabi Mehboob, a gender expansive millennial in Toronto who also happens to be the first-ever non-binary lead character on Canadian television. Since it’s widely heralded premiere in November 2021, the CBC and Max original series has won numerous awards, including a Peabody, TEN (!!!) Canadian Screen Awards, a screenwriting award from the Writers Guild of Canada, and, in 2022 and 2023, nominations from GLAAD for Outstanding New TV Series. The series is beloved by fans and critically acclaimed by reviewers, but all good things must come to an end. Recently, Bilal and co-creator, co-EP, and co-showrunner Fab Filippo announced that Sort Of’s third season – which premiered on November 17 and wraps up on December 8 – would be its last. As they stated in an Instagram post, “We set out to tell a story about a kind of transition in Sabi’s life, and how those around them also change — and we feel in this coming season that story came to an end in a way that felt right for us.” On the eve of Sort Of’s final season, Bilal joined Sabrina Rani Furminger in the YVR Screen Studio to look back on their journey with Sort Of and Sabi, and why it’s time to say goodbye. Episode sponsors: Biz Books / The Drama Class