A Message of Hope: Why We’re Giving Away TV’s First Trans Sitcom for Free
Ten years ago, a small, independent team of filmmakers and actors in Vancouver, Canada, made history. We created The Switch, the world’s first television show with a predominantly transgender cast in leading roles, created and produced by a transgender showrunner. It was a TV comedy about work, love, and the beautifully messy reality of life in uncertain times, centered on a community of trans and gender-nonconforming characters.
The Switch was a labour of community love, produced for a tiny fraction of the cost of a network show. It found a home on OUTtv in Canada and broadcasters in Europe, earning a brief streaming run in the US. But its creators always knew its reach was limited by traditional television. The people who needed its message most—the young trans person in a small town, the ally seeking understanding, the family member wanting to connect—never had the chance to see it.
Today, that changes. And in these times, it has to.
We have entered an era of unprecedented, open hostility towards transgender people. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and around the globe, authoritarians and oligarchs scapegoat trans people, pushing discriminatory laws and hate, until the very existence of trans individuals is threatened. The need for joyful, authentic trans stories has never been more urgent.
That is why we, the producers of The Switch, are taking an unprecedented step - another world first. We are officially placing the entire series into the Creative Commons, making it history's first TV show to be given this status by its creators
What does this mean? It means The Switch is now yours. It’s free for everyone, forever.
We are making the show available in every way we can, to ensure it reaches every corner of the internet:
Stream it now on Vimeo, YouTube, and Tubi.
Download it directly from our website.
Share and Pirate it far and wide. We wholeheartedly encourage you to share it on torrent sites. Share it. Pirate it. Post it. The more people who see it, the better.
Our goal is no longer to profit from this series, but to profit the community it represents. We believe in the power of stories. We believe in the power of seeing yourself on screen. We believe that trans joy is a radical, beautiful, and necessary act of resistance.
The Switch was ahead of its time, but its time is now. Help us spread this message of hope. Watch the show, share it with your friends, your family, your community, and anyone who you think needs to see it.
The revolution will not be televised; it will be streamed, downloaded, and shared.
As of August 1st, 2025, all existing episodes of The Switch: Work, Love, Mortal Danger are available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Creative Commons license from now, until the day they enter the public domain. Enjoy!
i am once again informing everyone that there is a sitcom with 3 transfem main characters and it’s available for free on youtube. and one of them kills CEOs with a crossbow. okay that is all.
Michael Robinavitch x F!OC (Leah)
[Ao3] Masterlist, Series Masterlist, Next,
Warnings: Robby can be a self sabotaging asshole, self-deprecation (Robby typical). Angst with happy ending.
Word Count: 1829
Summary: Robby gets paperwork that Leah is switching to nights, self sabotaging and anger ensues.
A/N: This is a 3 parter
There was an hour left in the shift, and Robby couldn't remember ever feeling so angry. His hands shook as he read the email. Leah, transferring to the night shift. He hadn't been able to read further than that; he felt like he couldn't see straight. Shoving the phone back into his pocket, he tried to keep an eye out for her as he approached the central desk.
"Dana? Have you seen Leah?" he felt like his whole body was vibrating.
"Yeah, she's in North 15 with a patient. Everything ok, Cap?" Dana asked, eyeing him.
"Did you know she applied for a transfer to night shift?" He swore his face was heated.
"No, why would she do that?"
"I don't know," he placed the tablet down a little too roughly.
"Did you do something?"
Robby rubbed the back of his neck. "No, I dont't think so," it was the truth. Everything had been going great. At least he had thought so. But honestly, Robby knew that there were times he missed things in relationships. He knew he missed signs when partners were angry with him. But he couldn't recall a recent moment when Leah was angry with him. Hell, this morning they'd laughed, she'd kissed him before they had entered the building.
He shook his head, making his way to the north corridor, finding her exitingw a room, a tablet under her arm as she tossed gloves into the bin.
"Robby," Smiling at him as he approached. "I can get this room empty in the next half hour. Everything is clear, just a case of the flu."
Robby couldn't wait, couldn't hold it in, "You want to transfer?"
This caught her off guard. Her smile dropped. "You got the paperwork?"
"Yes, I got the paperwork," he snapped.
"Ok," She said. Looking around and gesturing for him to go into the next empty room. Closing the door and the curtain as he stepped in. "I didn't know it would be that fast."
"You had to have known I would see it," he said, exasperated. He was losing his mind, "What the fuck, Leah?"
"It's not a big deal, Robby," she said quietly.
"N-not a big deal?" his face was definitely burning, the shade of crimson. Fear was creeping in. He had missed something, missed a sign. "Did," his voice went softer, more panicked as he looked at her, unable to look at him now. "Did I do something?"
Her eyes went wide, moving closer to him. Pulling his hoodie so he was closer to her. "No, of course not," she said reassuringly, "I just wanted a change of pace. Jack said he'd be willing to take me on for a bit."
"Is this about needing space?" There had been conversations about remaining neutral at work, about limiting contact. Had he been crossing boundaries he wasn't aware of?
"I don't need space," she shook her head, her hands flattening on his chest, running over his sweater, trying to soothe him.
"Could have fucking fooled me," he couldn't help it; panic was setting in. He knew how this game played out. She would say she needed space, needed him to back off. Then she would end the relationship and find someone new, and he'd watch from afar like he always did as it ate him alive.
"Robby," her voice was so quiet, like she was gearing up for it, gearing up to leave him.
He was so mad. So fucking mad. He didn’t know what else to say. He was so angry. Pulling himself from her grasp. He pushed the curtain aside. Storming out. He would focus on work, finish this shift, and get out of here.
-
He hadn't talked to her at all in the last hour of the shift. Didn't even acknowledge her. She knew he was angry about the switch to nights; she felt slightly guilty that he found out the way he did. But it wasn't as dramatic as he was making it out to be. Maybe he just needed to cool off, calm himself down.
Catching up with Samira as she was leaving a room, "Samira, can I stay at your place tonight?"
Samira smiled at her, "Of course. Remember, I gave you an open invitation."
Leah passed her with a thanks before she kept going. The rest of the shift passed by with Robby avoiding her every time he spotted her in the hall, not subtle, he was taller than most people there.
She couldn't help the sigh of relief when she saw Jack enter. The best thing about Jack was that when she saw him in the morning, he was almost constantly the worst version of himself, but by the time he returned, he was lighter. What shower and sleep did to that man was a mystery.
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," he said playfully, coming up to her. She smiled lightly. He looked at her when she didn't add anything, a frown crossing his face, "What's wrong, kid?"
"Admin pushed the paperwork faster than we thought. I didn't get a chance to tell Robby," she refused to cry at work. "He's so mad, Jack."
Jack sighed, "He can't be that mad. He knows you love working nights."
"You didn't see him, Jack," she bit her lip. "He won't even talk to me. I think he wants to end everything."
Jack moved, "Where is he? The roof?"
But all she could do was give a shrug, "Probably? I haven't seen him in about 20 minutes since the last avoidance," she grabbed her jacket and purse. "Can you tell him I'm going to Samira's for the night?"
"Are you sure that's wise?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I think it's important," she tried to sneak in a subtle wipe of the eye, but Jack was too observant.
"Go, get some rest. I'll text you when he leaves, ok?"
Leah nodded before spotting Samira waiting for her. “Night cowboy”
“Night Kid”
-
Jack got to the roof and sighed. Robby was there, standing on the roof, at least he was behind the safety railing.
"I fucked up, Jack." Robby's voice was weak and raw, like he'd been crying. "I fucked up so bad."
"What did you do?" Jack asked, keeping his voice neutral as he leaned against the railing.
"I," his voice broke, "I snapped at Leah."
"Shit," was all Jack could think to say.
"She didn't tell you?" Robby looked to see Jack's face.
Jack shook his head, "Nah, man. She just said you were upset," he leaned over the railing to see the view with a thoughtful expression. He supposed if Robby was going to jump, he would have done it already. "She said to tell you she's going to Samira's tonight. Some girls' night thing."
"Yeah, to escape me," Robby said, rubbing his hands over his face. "FUCK," he couldn't help yell it into the air. "I fucked up, I pushed her away, now she's trying to fully get away from me."
"Other than snapping at her, did you say anything else?" Jack watched as Robby shook his head violently. "Nothing?"
"I swear, Jack," Robby took a deep breath. "Everything was going great."
"But?"
Robby groaned, "She wants to be moved to the night shift."
"And?" Jack narrowed his eyes, "Don't be insulting the night shift cause you're mad."
"I'm not," Robby said defensively, "I just-"
"Just what?" Jack wanted to shake this man's shoulders. "She wants to be on the night shift to get a different atmosphere. That's all," Jack was trying to get Robby's eyes on him now. "It wasn't about you or you guys as a couple."
"Fuck, Jack," a small sob ran through him, "I felt like she was telling me she was leaving me,"
"Leave you?" Jack scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, the way you two look at each other?"
Robby couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him.
Jack stood up straight, "Besides, if your dumbass had looked at the paperwork, you would have known it said temporary for a month."
Robby froze, "What?"
Jack rolled his eyes. Robby hadn't read the whole page. "It says temporary, a month."
"Fuck Jack," Robby groaned, "I'm an ass."
"Yeah, you are," Jack patted Robby on the back, "I told her I'd let her know when I was sending you home."
Robby sighed, grabbing his bag by his feet. He waited until he watched Robby heading out the door before sending a text to Leah, letting her know he had sent Robby on his way.
-
"Leah, could you help? I can't figure out the coffee maker, and I really need it. No one else could figure it out," Dana said as Leah entered the pitt a bit early before shift. She had hoped to run into Robby, at least to see him off for the day.
"Sure, of course," she said, smiling, heading into the break room and fully entering before seeing Robby standing there, his coffee in his hand, staring at her, shocked. Suddenly, the door was shut behind her. Leah turned around, trying the door handle. Blocked. "Dana, what the hell?"
"No can do, sunshine, we refuse to work with you two until you work it out," Leah heard as footsteps faded.
"Not very subtle of them," Robby commented after a beat.
"No," Leah said with a sigh, "How are you feeling?"
Robby looked at her with a shrug, "Ok,"
"Ok?" she didn't believe that for a second. He looked exhausted. "Ok, like you hate me and wanna break up?"
He was looking at her, trying to keep his voice steady, "Do you want to?"
"No," She said, quickly moving beside him. "Never, I love you too damn much. I thought-"
He reached up, tucking loose hair behind her ear. "Never, just wished we could have discussed it before the paperwork went through,"
"I promise, it just went in the night before, Jack and I figured it would take a week at least. I was going to tell you last night," She felt like she was talking too fast, "It's temporary, it had nothing to do with us, I promise."
"I know, Sunshine," he smiled, moving to place his forehead to hers.
"Ok," letting them stand in silence as their foreheads touched, finally, breaking the silence, "besides, I would get Jack in the divorce."
Robby made a confirmation sound, moving away from her to grab the coffee he had set down, "he told me as much, it's fine, his upkeep is too much for me, anyway."
She let out a small laugh, "How long do you think they'll keep us locked in here?"
"Oh, I don't know," he took a drink from his coffee, eyeing her with mischief in his eyes. "Long enough to do fun stuff," she said, watching as her face turned a shade of pink.
"No," she scoffed, "I know how many people come in here, I don't need an infection, thank you."
