CBC and HBO Max have renewed SORT OF!

CBC and HBO Max have renewed SORT OF for a second season, it was announced today. Created by Bilal Baig (Acha Bacha) and Fab Filippo (Save Me), the critically acclaimed CBC and Max Original comedy debuted on HBO Max in November 2021 following its Canadian premiere on CBC Gem in October 2021. The series was an official selection of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and made The Hollywood Reporter, The Globe and Mail, and Vanity Fair’s Best TV Shows of 2021 lists. SORT OF also leads this year’s Canadian Screen Award nominations with 13 nods, including Best Comedy Series. 

“We are so thrilled that we are able to dive back into the worlds of SORT OF, and to keep exploring the evolution of all our characters (including some new ones!) as they continue to investigate who they are in the world as friends, family members, lovers, and human beings,” said Bilal Baig, co-creator, showrunner, executive producer and lead actor.

“SORT OF speaks to the complexity of being human in the world with wit, warmth, and an authentic sense of inclusivity, thanks to the distinct voices of Bilal and Fab,” said Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports, CBC. “SORT OF has struck such a powerful chord with audiences, and we are thrilled to work with HBO Max and Sienna Films on the next chapter of Sabi’s story.”

“Baig and Filippo’s honest and insightful storytelling is a lesson in unraveling conventional views of identity,” said Jeniffer Kim, SVP, International Originals, HBO Max. “We could not be more excited to partner with CBC and Sienna Films on another season of this very special show.”

“It’s been a wonderful experience to develop this show from the ground up with Bilal and Fab, and now to have the opportunity in Season 2 to dig even deeper,” said Jennifer Kawaja, executive producer, Sienna Films.

Called “funny, tender, and humane” by NPR,  “the kind of representation everyone deserves” by Mashable, and “a small masterpiece of contemporary urban storytelling” by The Globe and Mail, SORT OF follows the journey of “Sabi Mehboob” (Baig), a gender-fluid millennial who straddles various identities from the sexy bartender at an LGBTQ bookstore/bar to the youngest child in a large Pakistani family, to the de facto parent of a downtown hipster family. Sabi feels like they’re in transition in every aspect of their life, from gender to love to sexuality to family to career. A coming-of-age story, SORT OF exposes the labels we once poured ourselves into as no longer applicable…to anyone.

The 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. Sienna Films’ 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.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs, and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi, and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

About HBO Max

HBO Max™ is WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform, offering best-in-class quality entertainment. HBO Max features the greatest array of storytelling for all audiences from the iconic brands of HBO, Warner Bros., DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, and more. The platform launched in the United States in May 2020 and introduced a lower-priced, advertising-supported tier in June 2021. HBO Max began its global rollout launching in markets across Latin America and the Caribbean last summer, followed by its first European launches in the Nordics and Spain in the fall. Currently available in 46 countries, there are plans for the continued expansion of HBO Max in 2022.

Sienna Films is one of Canada’s preeminent scripted content companies, producing film and television internationally since 1992. Its most recent series Sort Of (CBC-HBO Max) a half-hour dramedy has been sold to 19 countries around the world and has recently been nominated for 13 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Comedy series. Sort Of was cited by Vanity Fair and the Hollywood Reporter and one of the top TV shows of 2021 and is nominated for a GLAAD award.  Sienna Films’ feature-length documentary One of Ours has also been nominated for 3 Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, including Ted Rogers Best Feature-Length Documentary. Other past hit series include Trickster (CBC) which was named one of Variety’s top 25 dramas at MIPCOM 2020, and one of TBI’s top 10 hot picks, and Cardinal (Bell Media) which has gotten critical acclaim and high ratings internationally for its four seasons. Other work includes 3 seasons of 1-hr drama Ransom, distributed in over 100 territories, 13-part limited series Combat Hospital, distributed by Sony International, and mini-series Diamonds as well as several award-winning feature films. In 2020, Sienna Films was acquired by Sphere Media, which specializes in the creation, adaptation, production, and distribution of television and film content.

Abacus Media Rights (AMR) acquires and distributes a diverse slate of premium, multi-genre programming in the international market. At the same time, the company also works with producers to facilitate pre-sales and development finance as well as broadcaster commissions. Embracing a fully transparent reporting ethos throughout, AMR focuses on building strong client relationships and generating positive solutions at every stage of the process, from initial financing to worldwide broadcast in order to successfully deliver scripted and non-scripted entertainment that counts to a global audience.

 

Abacus Media Rights is an Amcomri Entertainment company. Amcomri Entertainment Inc (NEO Exchange Canada: AMEN) (FRANKFURT: 25Y0)

 

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