Groundbreaking Australian Miniseries First Day to make Canadian Premiere on CBC Gem

Photo Credit: Ian Routledge; Courtesy of CBC Gem

The acclaimed Australian tween drama, commissioned by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), will make its Canadian premiere on Wednesday, March 31 on CBC Gem

CBC Gem will offer the Canadian premiere of groundbreaking Australian tween drama miniseries FIRST DAY, which will launch on the free streaming service on Wednesday, March 31.

Starring transgender actor Evie Macdonald - the first transgender actor to be cast in the lead role of an Australian television series - FIRST DAY follows transgender teen Hannah Bradford during her first year of high school, as she navigates the challenges of starting a new school, forming new friendships and finding the courage to live as her most authentic self.

Commissioned by Australian public broadcaster ABC in association with Screen Australia, the South Australian Film Corporation and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF), FIRST DAY is written and directed by Julie Kalceff and produced by Epic Films in association with Kojo Entertainment.

FIRST DAY is a spin-off of a stand-alone episode of the same name commissioned in 2017 as part of the Girls Film Season, an ABC and Screen Australia initiative to celebrate what it means to be a girl today. It was Evie’s first acting role. The original First Day won the inaugural prize for Excellence in Kids’ Programming at the 2018 MIPCOM Diversify TV Excellence Awards and the Gender Equity Prize at the prestigious Prix Jeunesse International Children's Television Festival in Munich.

Writer Julie Kalceff says the goal for the series is to increase understanding and acceptance amongst the target audience and the wider community. In addition to working closely with Evie to authentically capture what it's like to be a young girl who happens to be transgender, Kalceff also carefully crafted this dramatized story with input from GLAAD and Parents of Gender Diverse Children, two LGBTQ2SIA+ community organizations, into the scripting process to ensure the series was accurately reflecting the lives of trans children and their families.

“With First Day, I not only want to increase visibility of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community, but to tell an uplifting story of empowerment about a transgender teenager. My hope is that this will help give a voice to those who struggle as a direct result of not seeing themselves represented on screen,” says Julie Kalceff.

More and more transgender characters are appearing on screen, but the tendency is to cast a cisgender white man in the role of a transgender woman. Casting a cis male in the role of a transgirl or woman is not an authentic portrayal of a transwoman. It’s reinforcing the ignorant and misinformed notion that a transwoman is really a man and being trans is about cross-dressing. Trans voices are crucial in telling authentic stories about trans characters.

Evie is a spokesperson for trans rights and featured on The Project (a popular news-current affairs and talk TV show in Australia) in September 2018 in response to the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s comments about “gender whisperers”. Evie argued against Morrison’s misguided statements clearly and articulately and so impressed the presenters and producers of The Project, they did a follow-up story interviewing Evie and her mother, Meagan.

Alongside the show’s premiere in Australia, the Australian Children’s Television Foundation created a Teaching Toolkit to accompany the show.

FIRST DAY WILL BE AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON THE FREE CBC GEM STREAMING SERVICE (UNDER KIDS/TWEENS SECTION) FROM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31ST