Love Without Limits. Settle Down Is Setting A New Standard For Queer Narratives

Canadian Media has always been a leader in broadcasting queer stories. As a small industry, it has been hard to see how progressive and boundary-pushing our networks have been, but we have made a huge impact in queer representation on-screen.

Before the era of streaming, leading Canadian networks in the early aughts gave us a plethora of queer narratives. Edgemont, a series that aired on CBC from 2000 to 2004, followed a group of high schoolers as they navigated social issues, one of them being Shannon, a Chinese-Canadian student from a conservative family struggling with her sexuality and coming out to her friends and family. Degrassi: The Next Generation, which aired on CBC and CTV, had several queer storylines but none as influential as Marco Del Rossi.

The mid-2000s gave us shows like Exes & Oh’s, a series on Showcase that focused on the life of Jennifer, a lesbian filmmaker searching for love. Another popular series from that era was The House Of Venus, an LGBT sketch comedy show that aired on OutTV. But even with the best intentions, many aspects of the LGBTQ2S+ were left out. Black queer visibility was heavily lacking on these networks; lesbian and gay narratives often used exhauseted tropes that were offensive to real-life experiences. Trans storylines didn’t appear on-screen until the 2010’s and Non-Binary narratives almost didn’t exist on television.

Enter Alexander Nunez, a trailblazer in the realm of queer storytelling. As the creator and showrunner of Settle Down, Nunez has crafted a series that delves into the complexities of modern relationships through the lens of queer experiences. The show follows Mason, a relationship expert, professional matchmaker and podcast host, who, despite his professional success, grapples with the challenges of his own marriage. Nunez’s approach to storytelling moves beyond traditional queer narratives and focusses on characters who are multifaceted and unapologetically navigate love in a manner that resonates with authenticity and relatability. Through Settle Down, Nunez entertains and educates, fostering a deeper understanding of the diverse experiences within the queer community.

Below you can read interviews with Alexander Nunez, Tymika Tafari, Leighton Alexander Williams, Nadine Bhabha and Izad Etemadi, as they intimately share their experiences in playing their respective characters and why Settle Down is so important.