Creators Who Inspire: Meet Anar Ali
We can thank Anar Ali for bringing fresh eyes to the police procedural.
Ali is the creator of CBC’s Allegiance, set in Surrey, BC, where rookie cop Sabrina Sohal (Supinder Wraich) grapples with the complexities of modern policing while also trying to exonerate her politician father (Stephen Lobo), who’s been charged with treason.
It’s rare to see a South Asian female lead on TV — especially one portraying a cop.
“I’m a novelist and short story writer and have always been drawn to strong women,” says Ali. Ali made a name for herself with the acclaimed short story collection Baby Khaki’s Wings and the novel Night of Power before transitioning to TV screenwriting, beginning as a writer on the first season of the medical drama Transplant.
The idea of tackling a police show fascinated her, as did the chance to highlight issues of social justice on a deeper level.
“I was inspired, as so many of us were, with the events surrounding George Floyd,” she remembers, “and also South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission with its idea of restorative justice for victims and suspects.”
Ali also wanted to tell an immigrant tale, but not one we usually see onscreen — Allegiance’s Sohal family is a pillar of the community, and our hero Sabrina is a third-generation Canadian.
“So many shows about immigrants focus on newly arrived immigrants, and that is wonderful and important, but I wanted to look at what it was like for people, families, who have been here for generations and who are established, and how that impacts identity and allegiance.”
Ali can relate.
Her family immigrated from Tanzania to Alberta when she was a child, and she followed a traditional career path, rising the corporate ladder at Proctor and Gamble. Yet, in her heart, she wanted to write.
“One day walking home I happened to see a flier on the sidewalk, I think it was the brown face on the flier that caught my eye,” she says.
It was promoting an appearance of Funny Boy author Shyam Selvadurai in Banff, and she decided at that moment she would go. She met Selvadurai at the event and they went out for a drink where she told him about her desire to write.
“The next day, when I was getting him to sign a copy of the book, he wrote, 'Take the plunge. It's worth it.' And on Monday I went into the office and told them I was quitting,” she says with a laugh. The company convinced her to stay but allowed her to work four days a week so she could concentrate on writing. She ended up leaving a year later.
That journey has taken her all the way to Allegiance, whose second season hits screens in 2025. Audiences can watch officer Sohal continue to do the right thing within a flawed justice system, and Ali says the best thing about creating a police procedural is that viewers can engage with the show on different levels.
“What is great about this format is that each episode is a standalone story, and you can jump in and follow along, while our dedicated viewers enjoy the characters as they grow and develop.”
