Sort Of...The TV series to Heal America?
The day of my wife’s surgery on her broken wrist AND elbow, Spirit gave us exactly what we needed. The perfect bingeable TV series. When I opened the Max app, I’d never heard of “Sort Of”. The description was short but intriguing: “Non-binary millennial Sabi – the youngest child of Pakistani parents — navigates love, career, and family.” We thought we were just checking it out. Then we stayed up all night watching the first two seasons. I’m proud to say we took our asses to bed right as season 3 began to auto-play. But we dove back in the next day.
“Sort Of” is one of those “messy protagonist stumbling through life” comedies, full of queer characters with more sadness and realness than laughs. Literally, my wife and my favorite kind of show. It’s a Canadian series, so I’m not surprised we hadn’t heard of it before. The show stars Bilal Baig as Sabi, trying to make their way in a world that isn’t designed for their happiness. But Sabi unapologetically chooses joy anyway.
My wife, Elle, and I believe in living each day as the best day ever. Needless to say, that’s difficult with a fully broken arm. Believe it or not, this series helped both of us address and heal trauma. So even though this injury sucks, we’ve been able to connect with how this show has helped today feel like the best day ever.
I realized that this is the kind of show that could only come out of Canada. The characters are kind, emotionally mature and understand the value of art and inclusivity. They are willing to have difficult conversations with authenticity, grace and compassion for one another. Paul, the only cisgender, heterosexual, white, male character, is a therapist who works hard to support his mixed-race children and the queer people around him.
While Americans are walking around with centuries of generational trauma in our bodies, Canada is teaching us how to heal. “Sort Of” provides an example of the value of somatic release, or using physical movement to release pain from within. Watching this series the day after surgery, my wife was in a lot of pain. At one seemingly random moment, Elle pushed pause to have an important conversation about our marriage.
When we restarted the show, Elle commented that she was no longer in pain. Because we JUST WATCHED these characters lament on the healing power of sharing your truth, I was able to point out the connection between her pain relief and our discussion. Or maybe the drugs she was taking finally kicked in. God only knows.
These characters make mistakes…then they take responsibility for them. They listen to each other, often without interruption, raising their voices or name-calling. When they project their feelings onto each other, they notice it themselves and make immediate corrections. Can Americans learn how to have those important, yet sticky, conversations with each other from a Canadian comedy series? Only time will tell. If it’s not already obvious, I highly recommend checking it out.
