Tag Archives: Sort Of

Nominations announced for the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards

From a media release:

Today, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (the Canadian Academy) announced the nominees for the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards in 156 television, film, and digital media categories. The annual awards celebrating excellence on-screen will be presented over four days during Canadian Screen Week 2024, including The 2024 Canadian Screen Awards broadcast show, hosted by Mae Martin, airing on Friday, May 31 at 8 PM (9 AT, 9:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem.

Crave Original limited series Little Bird leads both television and overall 2024 Canadian Screen Award nominations with 19, including Best Drama Series and Best Lead Performer, Drama Series, presented by the Canada Media Fund, nominations for Darla Contois and Ellyn Jade. The final seasons of CBC comedies Sort Of and Workin’ Moms follow with 18 and 12 nominations, respectively.  

In film, Matt Johnson’s BlackBerry tops nominations with 17, making it the most nominated film in the history of the Canadian Screen Awards. Honours include Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, and Performance in a Leading Role, Comedy for Jay Baruchel. Ariane Louis-Seize’s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant follows with 12, while Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool secures 11. 

The Drop and How to Fail as a Popstar lead digital media nominations with five, including Best Web Program or Series, Fiction; followed by I Hate People, People Hate Me and Streams Flow From A River with four.

The 2024 Canadian Screen Awards will be handed out in a series of award shows at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto all culminating with The 2024 Canadian Screen Awards broadcast show, hosted by Mae Martin, where viewers at home can tune in to be a part of all the excitement. The full schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, May 28, 2024
7:00 PM ET: The News, Entertainment, and Sports Awards, presented by CTV 

Wednesday, May 29, 2024
12:30 PM ET: The Television Craft Awards 
7:00 PM ET: The Television Program and Performance Awards

Thursday, May 30, 2024
12:30 PM ET: The Documentary, Factual, Lifestyle, and Reality Awards, presented by CTV
7:00 PM ET: The Cinematic Arts Awards, presented by Telefilm Canada, supported by Cineplex 

Friday, May 31, 2024
4:00 PM ET: The 2024 Canadian Screen Awards Gala
8:00 PM (9 AT, 9:30 NT): The 2024 Canadian Screen Awards (broadcast show on CBC and CBC Gem)The 2024 Canadian Screen Awards Box Office opens today, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Each of the award presentations from May 28 to May 31 will include cocktail receptions for attendees, taking place before and after the shows. Canadian Screen Award nominees and guests can book their tickets online at academy.ca/boxoffice

The nominees for the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards were chosen by voting members of the Canadian Academy and by nominating juries, conducted virtually with representatives from the film, television, and digital media industries. The membership will now cast their votes between Thursday, March 7 and Monday, March 25 to determine the winners. 

For the full list of 2024 Canadian Screen Award nominees, please visit academy.ca/nominees; view the full schedule for Canadian Screen Week 2024 at CanadianScreenWeek.ca

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Co-creators of Sort Of announce the acclaimed series will end with Season 3

From a media release:

Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, co-creators, executive producers and showrunners — with Baig also the star — of the Peabody-winning CBC and Max original comedy SORT OF, today announced that the upcoming third season will be the final season of the series. The final eight-episode season will make its world premiere in Canada on the free CBC Gem streaming service beginning Friday, November 17 (two episodes will be available per week), with the series finale set for Friday, December 8.

Statement from Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo:

“To our dear Sort Of community, we’ve got an announcement to share with you all. Along with the producing team behind Sort Of, we have chosen to end the series with this upcoming third and final season. We want to thank you for welcoming this show so graciously into your worlds and for celebrating our work with generosity. 

We know how much the series means to a lot of you — it means so much to us too. It’s been such an incredible privilege to make this show for these last three years, working with every single person, cast and crew, who helped make our vision a reality. We feel incredibly fortunate to have received your love and enthusiasm and passion for all things Sort Of and to be totally real, to end the show was a very difficult decision to make.

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. 

We’re aware that series like ours, shows that feature queer and trans characters, tend to get cancelled early on, and we know that’s been happening a lot recently. We want to say that’s not what’s going down here. We made this third season knowing it would be our last. A big shout-out to Sphere Media, CBC and Max for believing in the story and for helping us tell it over these last few years. 

We’re also aware that this show is ending at a time when trans communities continue to be targeted and trans rights are being constantly attacked. Our hope is that this series can continue to affirm lives and spark conversations well after the final season drops. Sort Of will always exist, despite all the transphobia in our world. 

The final season will make its world premiere in Canada on the free CBC Gem streaming service beginning November 17th and in early 2024 on Max and soon after all over the world. We hope you love watching this season as much as we loved making it. 

Thank you for sharing in the laughter and the tears with us. Take care out there, and goodbye for now!”

Produced by Sphere Media, SORT OF has made its way into the hearts of viewers from around the world since its debut on CBC in 2021, with many lives having been positively impacted by its authentic and unapologetic approach to queerness and the universal experience of transition. The final season will also air on CBC TV in Winter 2024. Seasons 1 and 2 of SORT OF are currently available to stream for free in Canada on CBC Gem.

The third and final season shows Sabi Mehboob (Baig) coming to terms with feelings of grief and an unexpected sense of freedom following the death of their father. Without the constraints of living up to their father’s expectations Sabi confronts big questions about their identity, prompting some massive life choices. In a season that has the entire ensemble grappling with aftermaths, a rebirth comes in a sort of messy, sort of hopeful, sort of ‘Sort Of’ way.

In addition to Baig, returning cast members include Gray Powell as Paul; Amanda Cordner as 7ven; Ellora Patnaik as Raffo; Supinder Wraich as Aqsa; Kaya Kanashiro as Violet; Aden Bedard as Henry; Raymond Cham Jr. as Wolf; Becca Blackwell as Deenzie; Ali Hassan as Shehraz; Kareem Vaude as Kareem; Varun Saranga as Izzy; Ayesha Mansur Gonsalves as Mumtaz; and with Grace Lynn Kung as Bessy.

Internationally acclaimed author, poet, comedian and public speaker Alok Vaid-Menon, and accomplished writer, producer and actor Angelica Ross (American Horror Story, Pose) will make cameo appearances in the final season.

The acclaimed dramatic comedy cemented its place in the comedic landscape by winning seven 2023 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Comedy Series. Baig also recently received the CMF Trans Barrier Breaker Award during the 2023 TIFF Trans Filmmakers Summit. This is in addition to the series having won a Peabody in the Entertainment Category at the 82nd Annual Peabody Awards, as well as receiving a second Peabody nomination for the upcoming 83rd Annual Peabody Awards, and receiving the Banff Rockie Award for Program of the Year. The series also won three 2022 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Comedy Series, Best Writing, Comedy, and the Members’ Choice Series Ensemble Award. Baig and Filippo received a Writer’s Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award in 2022. SORT OF also received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding New TV Series in 2022 and 2023.

SORT OF features Sabi Mehboob (Baig), a gender expansive millennial who is so over-editing themselves to make others comfortable. From love to family to career, Sabi feels like they’re in transition. SORT OF exposes the labels people once poured themselves into as no longer applicable…to anyone.

A CBC/Max original series, SORT OF is produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo are creators, executive producers and co-showrunners and Jennifer Kawaja is executive producer along with Bruno Dubé for Sphere Media. Directors for the final season are Fab Filippo (Save Me) and Shamim Sarif (Despite the Falling Snow). Andrea Glinski and Laura Perlmutter are co-executive producers. Baig and Filippo were joined by writers and co-executive producers Ian Iqbal Rashid (Touch of Pink) and Tricia Fish (New Waterford Girl). 

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Co-showrunners Jennica Harper and Nelu Handa to “Run” Run the Burbs

From a media release:

Longtime collaborators Jennica Harper (JANN, above right) and Nelu Handa (SORT OF, above left) will co-showrun Season 3 of the popular, hit CBC original comedy, RUN THE BURBS. Created by writer and actor Andrew Phung (KIM’S CONVENIENCE) and filmmaker Scott Townend (The Secret Marathon), RUN THE BURBS follows the Phams, a young, bold Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family taking a different approach to living life to the fullest, while changing the way we think about contemporary family values and life in the burbs. The series is produced by Pier 21 Films and distributed by Fifth Season. Season 3 of RUN THE BURBS is slated to broadcast on CBC and CBC Gem in Winter 2024, the first two seasons are available to stream now on CBC Gem.

Jennica Harper steps in after showrunning three seasons and a holiday special of the Jann Arden CTV comedy JANN. Nelu Handa has written and produced on the previous two seasons of RUN THE BURBS. Harper and Handa have a history of collaborating and worked together on all three seasons of JANN. They take over RUN THE BURBS from Season 2 showrunner Anthony Farrell. 

Harper and Handa bring a slew of accolades and comedy experience to the RUN THE BURBS team. In 2021, Nelu Handa won a Canadian Screen Award for “Best Writing” on the BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW. Her script for SORT OF was nominated for a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award for “Best Comedy”. She earned a Peabody Award for her contribution to the ground-breaking first season for SORT OF. Jennica Harper has won two Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards including “Best Comedy” script for JANN and “Best Tweens and Teens” script for kids’ comedy SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.

Creator and star Andrew Phung shares, “I’m so pumped to be working with Jennica and Nelu on Season 3. I’m a big fan of Jennica’s work, and she brings such joy and relatability to the writer’s room. She leads with such a calming presence. I’ve worked with Nelu for the past two seasons of RUN THE BURBS, and have loved every minute of it. She’s so thoughtful and hilarious, and her experiences have greatly added to the development of the show and its characters. I’m truly honoured and so excited that they are co-leading the show together.”

Jennica Harper shares Phung’s enthusiasm stating, “I’m thrilled to be joining the RUN THE BURBS team, showrunning alongside Nelu. We’ve got a built-in trust, and share a lot of comedic instincts. Andrew and Scott, the creators, have been so welcoming to ‘the new kid.’ I’m honoured they’re trusting Nelu and I with their baby.

Season 2 was incredible. It told culturally specific yet super relatable stories, the characters deepened, and yet the whole season really amped up the funny. The goal for Season 3 is to have fun paying off a bunch of storylines started last season. Andrew and Camille are both working their dream jobs — but what does that mean for their work/life balance?”

Nelu Handa continues, “I’m excited to be taking this next step in my career on a show that I’ve come to love for two seasons. I’ve learned a lot from our past showrunners Anthony and Shebli Zarghami, they both exemplified strong leadership and created a really great work culture, traditions I’m aiming to continue in this role. Jennica’s an incredible person and has been a mentor for many years, so getting the chance to work alongside her is like a dream come true. 

I’m proud of the stories we get to tell. Exploring the experiences of a modern Canadian couple with rich cultural backgrounds is both very rewarding personally and relatable to so many viewers who are excited to see themselves reflected on Canadian television.”

In addition to CTV JANN’s three seasons and a holiday special, Jennica Harper has written and produced a wide range of TV genres, from dark crime dramas to kids’ multi-cam comedies. She was a Writer and Co-Executive Producer on the light mystery series THE SPENCER SISTERS (CTV), the medical adventure drama SKYMED (Paramount+/CBC), horror-comedy cult favourite THE ORDER (Netflix), and critically acclaimed thriller CARDINAL (Hulu/CTV), among others. 

Nelu Handa has written for multiple seasons of award winning comedy series including: JANN, SORT OF, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, ODD SQUAD, THE BEAVERTON, TALLBOYZ, and A Little Late with Lilly Singh. She’s written for RUN THE BURBS since the first season and served as writer/Co-EP on season two.

A CBC original series, RUN THE BURBS is Executive Produced by Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler, Karen Tsang and Vanessa Steinmetz (for Pier 21 Films), Andrew Phung, and Scott Townend. Jennica Harper and Nelu Handa serve as Executive Producers, writers and showrunners. Co-executive producer is Jay Vaidya. Jessica Daniel is the Series Producer. Season 3 writers include Andrew Phung, Scott Townend, Jennica Harper, Nelu Handa, Jay Vaidya, Sara Peters, Angelica Mendizabal, and Mandeq Hassan.

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CBC and HBO Max renew Sort Of for a third season

From a media release:

CBC and HBO Max have renewed the Peabody Award-winning comedy series SORT OF for a third season. The CBC original series is a co-production with HBO Max and Sphere Media (formerly Sienna Films).

Created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, the second season of the critically acclaimed comedy about a gender-fluid millennial in transition in every aspect of their life debuted November 15 on CBC and CBC Gem, and made its HBO Max premiere on December 1. A coming-of-age story, SORT OF exposes the labels we once poured ourselves into as no longer applicable… to anyone.

Bilal Baig, co-creator, co-showrunner, executive producer and lead actor quote: “It’s been such a creative and rewarding pleasure to sink deeply into the mess of the lives of these characters in season two. And I look so forward to continuing and expanding the mess, alongside Fab, our gifted writers, the generous teams at Sphere Media, CBC and HBO Max, and our gorgeous cast and crew!”

Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports, CBC quote: “Sort Of has made its way into the hearts of viewers and critics in Canada, the U.S. and around the world by embracing universal themes that we can all relate to, no matter who we love or how we self-identify. We are excited to continue our work with Bilal, Fab, HBO Max and Sphere Media, and to keep sharing Sabi’s story with audiences everywhere.”

Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content, HBO Max quote: “Baig and Filippo, alongside our partners at CBC and Sienna Films, continue to deliver a heartfelt, empathetic and engaging story and we’re thrilled we get to continue following Sabi, their family, 7ven and the Kaneko-Bauers on their journeys in the new season.”

Jennifer Kawaja, executive producer, Sphere Media quote: “We love these characters and are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with CBC and HBO Max to explore their lives.”

Called “easy to love” by Rolling Stone, season two of SORT OF made the publication’s list of the 20 Best TV Shows of 2022 and debuted in the US to another round of strong acclaim, including “still great” by NPR and “as big-hearted and introspective as its wonderful predecessor” by TIME. With a Gotham Award nomination for the first season, Baig has also been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and TIME’s Next Generation Leaders. 

The CBC and HBO Max Original series is created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, who also serve as showrunners and executive producers, and produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. Sphere Media’s Jennifer Kawaja is also an executive producer on the series. SORT OF is distributed worldwide by Sphere Media. Abacus Media Rights handles sales outside of the United States and Latin America.

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