Not Just “Sort Of” Wonderful – A Review

CBC has a streaming platform called CBC Gem, that exists in a free, ad-supported (AKA commercial), way, or with a $4.99 a month subscription. While it carries shows that broadcast on CBC, it also has a catalogue of shows exclusive to it. Last year when Normal People was all the rage, it could be found on CBC Gem, completely free if you were willing to watch the commercials (it’s still there if you never got around to it). And now, CBC Gem is the home of Sort Of, a Canadian series about Sabi (played by Bilal Baig, who also co-created the series), a non-binary millennial living in Toronto.

The pilot episode finds Sabi reeling from a disastrous birthday date for their boyfriend, working as a nanny and a bartender (not at the same time), and ducking calls from the mother who they haven’t shown all of themselves. Sabi’s best friend is the fast-talking 7ven (played by Amanda Cordner) who immediately tells Sabi to make changes with their life when it’s revealed that, while Sabi was wallowing over the disastrous birthday date, their boyfriend (Lewis played by Gregory Ambrose) was out with his ex-girlfriend. Some of the dialogue in this scene, the dismissing of Lewis’ queerness, gave me uncomfortable echoes of typical bi-eraser stuff I’ve seen on screen time and again; a scene from Sex and The City sticks out as popularizing the trope. People that fall under the Bi/Pan umbrella are often attacked about their sexuality, not straight enough or queer enough. This is why I wish Baig and co-creator Fab Filippo had chosen to attack Lewis’ character without attacking his sexuality, especially since they had opened avenues to do just so, and later in the episode, Bessy (played by Grace Lynn Kung) echoes some of them. Sabi expresses love by showing their knowledge of people, having just giving Lewis a present to express this. So to have Lewis tell Sabi, “You don’t see me,” as a response, was especially hurtful. To have him then go out with his ex, made that line a dagger. A gaslighting dagger. Something to attack that has nothing to with his sexuality… and of course the cheating.

That said, I loved so much about the dialogue in the first two episodes. I had a full belly laugh at the “parked poutine truck” line, a line used to drive home the Canadian setting. In episode two, there was a standout exchange that I’ve seen so many times in person where a person talks in a certain way, particularly about fashion, to someone they’ve codified as queer. And the way Sabi essentially ignored it was perfection. The show was also so casually queer. The first hint at Bessy’s sexuality is when she drops that Paul (played by Gray Powell) fired Sabi because he’s threatened by them, it’s later confirmed just as casually with a reveal of her ex-girlfriend, and possible current affair with a Penny. I’m interested in seeing how this dynamic plays out as Sabi has a bond/loyalty to Bessy, but she could be the “Lewis” in her relationship with Paul giving Sabi and Paul something to relate over.

There were also so many nice visuals, from introducing 7ven from behind a “chia vulva” to Sabi’s mom showing up with chicken jalfrezi in yogurt containers. Both these visuals helped paint a picture of the character before they opened their mouths. And what a character that School Administrator was with their literal line on the floor.

The pilot sets up the idea of Sabi changing their life, leaving everything, and going to Berlin. Perhaps if it was a show from a different country, that would’ve seemed like the actual direction, the pilot serving as a springboard to launch Sabi on a journey of discovery in Berlin. But the show is from Canada and isn’t a co-production, so it was unlikely to happen. However, how they laid the groundwork for Sabi realizing that they weren’t going, some planted before Sabi even had an inkling to go to Berlin, was very well done. It didn’t matter that I knew what decision Sabi would ultimately arrive at, I was never bored watching them reach it.

As I wrote this, the first two episodes were available for free on Gem, with new episodes dropping weekly. Premium subscribers can watch the whole series right now, and there is a 1-month free trial available for new subscribers.