Filipino-Canadian creator Isabel Kanaan turned TikTok videos about immigrant experience into sitcom success with ‘Abroad’

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This article was published 16/05/2025 (396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – When Isabel Kanaan moved from the Philippines to Burlington, Ont., at 16, she found the calm suburban atmosphere difficult to adjust to.

“Filipinos in general, we’re always so noisy. And in Manila, the streets never sleep,” says the 33-year-old, whose family immigrated to Canada in 2008.

“Nothing was open past 9 p.m. I was so confused. Like, ‘What do people do after 9?’” she said of her new town, located on the western shores of Lake Ontario. 

It wasn’t just the quiet that took getting used to. Kanaan also figured she’d have to give up on her dream of acting.

“I thought there’s no way I could be an actor here because I didn’t really see people like me or my stories on TV or in movies,” she says. 

“So I didn’t pursue what I wanted.”

She initially enrolled in math at York University to become a teacher, but the pull toward acting proved strong. She eventually switched to Seneca College’s acting program — but upon graduating, found few roles available for Filipina women.

“My agent would get me in the room for characters that were Indian or Spanish or something else,” she recalls. 

“I got tired of auditioning for things that weren’t meant for me, for Filipinos. I wanted to make something for us.”

That frustration led Kanaan to start making TikToks about the Filipino immigrant experience from a humorous lens. Years later, those sketches would evolve into “Abroad,” an English-Tagalog sketch comedy show on OMNI that she co-created and stars in.

Now in its fourth season, “Abroad” returns Sunday with more sketches spotlighting Filipino-Canadian stories. Kanaan plays several characters inspired by real people, including Passive Aggressive Mama, and Nestor, a black-market dealer turned dance instructor. The show skewers everything from culture shock to language barriers to the quirks of assimilation.

A major theme this season is parents grappling with how to raise a second-generation Filipino-Canadian child — a storyline rooted in real life, as Kanaan recently became a mother herself.

“Before, I was just playing my mom or the moms I know in my life… Here I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to be different.’ And then things come up, and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, maybe I’m not so different from them,’” she laughs, acknowledging she’s just as “loud” as the other Filipino moms in her life.

Kanaan hopes the show helps Filipino immigrants — and newcomers of all backgrounds — feel seen.

“If they watch the show, they’ll think, ‘Oh yeah, this has been my experience. There are other people like me,’” says Kanaan, a former cast member of CBC’s “Royal Canadian Air Farce.”

Kanaan says “Abroad” has found a loyal following not just in Canada but around the world, with clips amassing millions of views on TikTok and Instagram. The show was recently acquired by Just For Entertainment Distribution to begin airing internationally.

“We are getting so many hits from all around the world and people saying, ‘We want to see this show where we are,’” Kanaan says, noting she’s heard from Filipino fans in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.

“Abroad” is up for five Canadian Screen Awards, including best sketch comedy and best sketch comedy performance for Kanaan and her Filipino-Canadian co-stars including Joy Castro, Justin Santiago and Nicco Lorenzo Garcia.

Following the recent tragedy at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver, where 11 people were killed after an SUV rammed into a crowd, Kanaan says she hopes “Abroad” brings some comfort to the community.

“It was just so sad… It hits you, even though you’re not there — it hits the community,” she says.

She’s been heartened by how the Filipino-Canadian community has rallied to support victims through various fundraisers.

“That’s the thing about the Philippines — we’re so community-based. I’m happy we’re all supporting and we’re getting the word out there,” she says, noting that her show first gained popularity through word of mouth as well.

As much as the show speaks to the immigrant experience, Kanaan hopes non-immigrants tune in as well.

“It’s showing them the different sides of Canada,” she says.

“I had to learn Canadian culture. There are so many of us and it’s so multicultural here in Canada, so there is no reason why you should not learn about your neighbour’s culture.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.