The Switch is a television series set in Vancouver Canada. Produced by Trembling Void Studios the show is a first of its kind. The Switch will feature 6 recurring transgender roles and tell their stories as they navigate through contemporary Canadian society. Though transgender roles are typically played by cis-gender actors, the creators of The Switch
cast only transgender people to play the parts of transgender characters. Creator Amy Fox chose to showcase the lives of these characters as they navigate such areas as coming out, washroom experiences, seeking social services, immigration/border crossing, and discrimination within the trans community. The Switch will be scripted but will incorporate real life documentary stories.
Having conducted Skype auditions from as far away as the Netherlands, the filmmakers received 170 audition inquires for the main character of Sue, with only 17 coming from transgender performers. With prospective transgender actors often told they are "less-castable" by many casting agents, locating transgender actors to fill the roles presented some challenges.
Amy Fox, the d Executive Producer of The Switch is a transgender woman herself, who says "[The] Only way when growing up was to relate to a fictional character, I realized there are very few transgender characters." Now her new web series gives her the chance to create the type of characters she saw were missing and to put their stories and struggles on screen, including romantic storylines between both trans couples and trans and cis-gender characters. The Switch began as a comedy skit in the 2009 Gender Euphoria Day then evolved into a web series. It will debut as 6 half hour episodes that will run through summer 2013, with the remainder of filming set to take place in Vancouver in early spring. You can watch the series' first trailer below.