Bilal Baig is a queer, trans-feminine, Muslim playwright, performer and workshop facilitator. Most recently, Baig co-created, executive produced and starred in three seasons of the Peabody Award-winning series, Sort Of, from CBC, Sphere Media and HBO Max. Baig stars as “Sabi Mehboob”, a non-binary millennial trying to balance their roles as a child of Pakistani immigrant parents, a bartender at an LGBTQ bookstore and café, and a caregiver to the young children of a professional couple. Sort Of just wrapped production on its third season and won the Comedy Series, Comedy Writing, and Comedy Lead Performer awards at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards.
On the theater side, Baig’s first play, Acha Bacha, was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2020 and nominated for the Dayne Ogilvie prize by the Writer’s Trust of Canada in 2022. Additionally, Baig works at non-profits such as Story Planet and Paprika Festival, where they develop and facilitate workshops for youth in underserved neighborhoods in Toronto focused on creative writing and literacy (Story Planet), and playwriting for emerging writers (Paprika Festival).
Baig’s additional awards and accolades include TIME Magazine’s “Next Generation Leaders”class of 2022; the “Most Creative People in Business 2022”; by Fast Company; Maclean’s most influential individuals in Canada in their 2021 “The Power List”; Refinery29’s “29 Game-Changers Who Made The World Better In 2021; NBC News’ 2022 edition of their “Pride 30: The New Generation”; and Bay Street Bull 30X30 Class of 2022. Baig was also the recipient of a 2022 Courage Award from the NYC Anti Violence Project and a Gotham Award nomination for “Outstanding Performance in a New TV Series”.
