Sort Of is a Canadian television sitcom, released on CBC Television beginning in 2021.[1] Created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, the series stars Baig as Sabi Mehboob, a non-binary millennial trying to balance their roles as a child of Pakistani immigrant parents, a bartender at an LGBTQ bookstore and café, and a caregiver to the young children of a professional couple.[2]
The show aired on CBC Television and CBC Gem in Canada and on HBO Max in the U.S., and ran for three seasons.[3][4][5] The series received positive reviews from critics and was the most-nominated television series at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards.[6][7] The show has won Best Comedy Series at the Canadian Screen Awards twice and won a Peabody Award.[8]
In October 2023, it was announced that the third season would also be the last.[9] Season three started broadcasting on November 17 on CBC and the final episode was released on December 8.[10]
Supporting cast also includes Becca Blackwell (Deenzie), Alanna Bale (Mackenzie), Amanda Brugel (Gaia), Cassandra James (Olympia), Varun Saranga (Izzy).[1][14]
Sort Of was written by Baig, Filippo, Jenn Engels, Nelu Handa and Ian Iqbal Rashid, and directed by Filippo and Renuka Jeyapalan. Ian Iqbal Rashid and Jenn Engels were also co-executive producers.[15]
The bookstore where Sabi works was inspired by Toronto's Glad Day Bookshop, an LGBTQ bookstore and café in the Church and Wellesley village, although the bookstore scenes in the series were filmed in a vacant space on Queen Street West.[16]
The series launched on CBC Gem on 5 October 2021, in advance of its television premiere on 9 November.[17] In advance of the CBC Gem launch, selected episodes received a preview screening in the Primetime program at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.[18] In the United States, HBO Max picked up the series and premiered on 18 November 2021.[19][20] The series has also been picked up by Sky Comedy in the United Kingdom, Stan in Australia (available from October 5), and M6 in France.[21]
The first season received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10, based on 12 reviews.[7] The second season holds an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 8.0 out of 10, based on 6 reviews.[32]
Sort Of was nominated for the Outstanding New TV Series category for the 33rd GLAAD Media Awards in 2022.[33] It also received a Peabody Award in the Entertainment category in 2022.[34]
It was the most-nominated television series at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, with 13 nominations. It won the award for Best Comedy Series.[6] It was also shortlisted for the fan-voted Audience Choice Award.[35]