Two LGBTQ series not to miss—HBO Max’s Sort Of and Netflix’s Special.
I. Sort Of
Sort Of is an engaging series that, among other things, has a theme of invisibility— and not just of the main character.
The IMDB description includes the following details: Sabi Mehboob (Bilal Baig) “is a gender fluid millennial who straddles various identities from 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.”
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, aptly describes Sabi as a “gentle” and “self-effacing” person who misses the opportunity to leave Toronto for Berlin, where their best friend is headed. Sabi thus “must find the courage to fuse the pieces of their fragmented life without leaving home.” Sort Of “traces this awkward yet poignant evolution. And Baig, an affable performer as well as a keen observer of human behavior, is one of the most intriguing new voices I’ve encountered on TV this year.”
Watch the trailer below, which shows key figures in Sabi’s life, starting with nonbinary friend 7ven (Amanda Cordner), Sabi’s mother (Ellora Patnaik), the two kids Sabi nannies for and their parents (Paul is a shrink, Bessy will have a health crisis), Sabi’s not-so-boyfriend-ish Lewis, and Sabi’s sister (I think in this order):
II. Special
Starring Ryan O’Connell as himself, Special is based on his autobiographical book, I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves (2015). “From the beloved blogger turned voice of an online generation, an unforgettable and hilarious memoir-meets-manifesto exploring what it means to be a millennial gay man living with cerebral palsy…”
Both the book and the breezy TV episodes address his cerebral palsy as well as the car accident that gave him the chance to try out a different explanation when others have questioned his limp.
The trailer for Season One sets up some of the dilemmas he faces, including the possibility of leaving home/his mom (Jessica Hecht):
Special ends with the second season, which addresses the issue of disability—not only his—more deeply.
