These fresh YA shows give young voices a chance to shine
3 new series on CBC Gem feature diverse Gen Z actors, telling stories that reflect their lived experience
A new voice is settling in at CBC Gem, and it's young, female, and incredibly vibrant — not only thanks to the sheer diversity, but in the exploration of what it means to come of age when you're balancing school, family, relationships, and mental health.
That refreshing spectrum of identity can be seen in three new comedies that all premiered recently on CBC Gem: Gangnam Project, which follows a young K-pop-obsessed Canadian Korean teen (Julia Kim Caldwell) as she connects with her Korean heritage; Near or Far, which tells the story of a set of Arab twins (Chloe Avakian, Fanar Zak) who choose separate paths in life as they leave high school; and Get Up Aisha, which follows a Pakistani Canadian teen (Sana Asad) and her attempt to gain more control in her life after a depression diagnosis.
With girls of colour given the space to be who they are — at home and at school — and at the forefront, each sitcom breaks significant ground. Simply put, never have so many of us felt so seen.
Consider Caldwell, who plays Gangnam Project's Hannah Shin, a biracial teen who discovers more about her cultural background when she starts working as an English tutor at a Korean entertainment company. She shares, "I saw the casting call for it that said they were looking for someone half-Caucasian and half-Korean. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is the first time that I've ever seen a casting call that acknowledges both sides of myself; I get to be fully myself in the audition.' There was no bending toward one culture or the other. I got to come in with my full, lived experience, which was so crazy."
Crazy as in incredibly singular. As Get Up Aisha's co-creator Marushka Jessica Almeida shares, finding an actress to play the title character was not easy, even in as diverse a place as Canada, because they wanted someone both Pakistani and Muslim with the ability to make viewers laugh and cry. Sana Asad caught the casting notice during a random online scroll, and quickly surmised, "Hey, this is me, I am Aisha!"
It wasn't just about being seen for the girls, but about taking responsibility to shift stereotype. Fanar Zak, who plays twin Lauren in Near or Far, explains, "We don't see Middle Eastern cultures represented under as positive a light as this on television." It's no coincidence that, just before her audition came along, she'd asked her agent to help her find a role where she could play a Middle Eastern girl who is "supported and free, and just gets to be."
In Caldwell's case, that was seeing herself in Hannah when she shares that she doesn't speak Korean as fluently as she wishes, contributing to her feeling "not Korean enough." She says, "That's real life. A lot of kids who migrate or are of mixed heritage feel that way, and struggle to connect with the culture."
Behind these Gen Z characters are millennial writers, creators and crew who have been toiling away, using their own experiences to craft these stories so a younger generation might see themselves represented in a way they never did, and find comfort in it.
In the Middle East, it's taboo to talk about mental health and say that you're experiencing anxiety or anything like that... Seeing people of colour on TV have experiences like these, it contributes to breaking that taboo.- Fanar Zak
"Our creator, Sarah Haasz, is a very strong Korean woman getting to tell stories that are very meaningful and very personal to her," says Caldwell. "And all of our directors were Asian. There was so much Asian talent in costuming, cameras…everyone was coming together to tell this story. So, it was really impactful because we all had such a personal stake in it."
That includes the series' explorations of mental health. In the case of Get Up Aisha, Almeida and her co-creators, Rabiya Mansoor and Nisha Khan, pulled directly from their own mental health journeys and experiences with therapy, and how their parents sometimes suggested faith and religion were the only antidotes they needed. The intention, always, was to show young viewers that they are not alone.
"In the Middle East, it's taboo to talk about mental health and say that you're experiencing anxiety or anything like that," says Zak. "Seeing people of colour on TV have experiences like these, it contributes to breaking that taboo. It builds a space in our community to talk about mental health. … Through a character you relate to and who looks like you, you can learn how to navigate what you're going through."
Which is also why Get Up Aisha's creators say their show and all shows like it are meant for family viewing. Mansoor explains, "We wanted an intergenerational viewing experience between parents and their children, no matter what age, to start conversations about how they're doing and how each generation can support the other."
It all circles back to greater representation — how it can make an audience feel okay to be who they are, to feel their choices and histories recognized, and to discover the future that awaits them outside their bedroom door.
"It's so surreal," says Caldwell referring to this new generation of television. "Five to 10 years ago, the media landscape wasn't the same. I remember when Shang-Chi came out and realized, 'Oh my god, we can be superheroes!' A white friend of mine, who looks like Captain America, has idolized him since he was five. I wonder what that would've been like for me; I bet I would have had so much more confidence. Now, I get to be a part of the change. It really touches me when kids discover the show and can relate to it, which is happening more and more. I'm so grateful."
Watch Gangnam Project, Near or Far and Get Up Aisha free on CBC Gem.
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