Since its premiere in 2024, CBC’s Allegiance has delivered a master class in the interplay between the law, the citizens, and the tension between what is right and what is legal. At its heart is the story of Constable Sabrina Sohal, a young police officer who strives to serve her community, represent her family, and seek the truth at all costs.
Allegiance Season 3 premieres on January 7, with several characters — including Sabrina — in challenging situations, following the intense events of the Season 2 finale. As Sabrina, star Supinder Wraich demonstrates strength, resilience, and human fallibility. We were lucky enough to speak with her via Zoom to ask her about the dramatic and genuine stories the series tells about the people of Surrey, BC, and the police who aspire to serve and protect.
[The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.]
How have you, Supinder, as well as your character, Sabrina, grown since Allegiance began?
That’s such a great question in terms of paralleling me and Sabrina because we both have. With Season 1, there was a naivete to Sabrina and a cautiousness. That cautiousness is always there, but over the seasons, there’s also a knowledge that comes with it. I don’t think that Sabrina or Supinder is scared of the same things they were scared of.
Speaking for myself, in Season 1, it was my first time leading a series of this size. For Sabrina, she was stepping into a new adventure, a new workforce, a new role as a police officer. We were kind of parallel at that point. Through the challenges that Sabrina faces, the characters she comes up against, she learns a lot, and she… what is that saying? “The more you know, the more you know.”
There’s different challenges and different things to be afraid of now. Maybe bigger, deeper, darker things than when we first start on a path to something. Those first, initial fears and instincts are also a little bit naive. Going into Season 3, there’s a different kind of weariness to her, but then also there’s a positivity, an energy, a belief in that — along with the bad — there’s been so much good.
Are there other ways your journey as an actor parallels your character’s?
In terms of paralleling it for myself, as an actor, it’s a gruelling shoot. We shoot four months, Monday to Friday, 12-14 hours a day, to try to get these days done. And the third season, going into that kind of work schedule, there was a resiliency I found myself building and a momentum with a “Here we go again!” excitement.
That rigour and what you get back from it, this sense of accomplishment and this sense of knowing what you’re capable of — for both Sabrina and myself. There’s a real, true confidence that comes from beating that pavement every day and coming out on the other side and saying, “Oh, I can do that. I can do these things that I was perhaps maybe afraid that I couldn’t do.” We’re both a lot stronger, so beware.
Sabrina had mentors and family who supported her as she found her footing as a police officer. Who supported you in the early days of Allegiance?
I have a very close group of friends who are also actresses who I lean on quite heavily and call and vent to. So in my personal everyday, I don’t know where I would be without those women who have a real understanding of what my day-to-day looks like. And then, also, I have Anar Ali, the creator of this show, to lean on and ask questions to and as a South Asian woman, she understands a particular element of being on a show that has a pace like this.
How is Allegiance Season 3 different from the first two seasons?
In Season 1 and 2, Sabrina is looking to Vince; she’s looking to her father, but she’s really going against a lot of the advice that they’re giving her. And when Zak Kalaini comes into the picture as well. I think in Season 3, we have a real turnaround for the character where she’s come to a point where she understands that what she wants to accomplish, she can’t do by herself.
This is the first season where we really see Sabrina take in those allies instead of letting their advice bounce off of her or ridicule it in a way or go against… Season 2 ended with her going against everybody and just doing what she thought was right.
In Season 3, there’s a bit of a penance to pay for that because she did hurt a lot of people with her actions. She did lose a lot of trust, and because of the aspirations that Sabrina has, she needs to build back that trust so that she can truly learn what it means to work with somebody. There’s this beautiful saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” and I really think that’s what this season is about.
What types of training did you need for the role? Was it fun? Intimidating?
The weapons training was definitely intimidating because police officers train for years, and they keep training. When I went to the gun range, there were so many police officers that come in regularly just to train their aim. People make it look easy, but it’s not an easy thing to hit the target. Also, to have the power of that weapon go off in your hands. Particularly as I was creating this character when we started the show, there was a lot of that significant training.
It was all fun in a way because it’s fun to build a world and become proficient at it. Then there’s also the … pressure, I don’t think is the right word, but the desire to make sure you do a good job for the people that are watching at home, who actually serve and protect us. The biggest thing that the show does is showcase the heart of the people who are doing the policing. Often, the police force gets a wash put on it. Especially when we started making this show, there was a real distrust of the police. What Allegiance does beautifully is show the individual behind the uniform. The system may be broken, but they are doing their best to work within that broken system.
What’s beautiful in the way the writers have written these scripts and the way the seasons have developed is there is a real honesty about the parts of the police system that are broken. And in Canada, specifically, which we don’t see anywhere else. Often, what Sabrina and Vince and Zak and Nate want to accomplish, they can’t do within the constraints of the system. We see that tension, and I really love the show for that.
Have you had any direct feedback from viewers about Allegiance‘s window into a very specific Canadian community?
Yeah, absolutely. We film in Surrey. We meet people from the community all the time. The comments that really stay with me are especially from the people who live in Surrey. People who have seen the show … The city itself looks beautiful in the show.
Through the stories that we showcase — some that are happening immediately in Surrey and then others that have been taken from the headlines from across Canada — there’s an element of healing that happens in the show for us, for the viewers watching at home to see their city as something to put on the map, something to be proud of, something to share with the rest of Canada. There’s a lot of homegrown pride about this show.
Funny enough, when I went to go pick up this suit [gestures to the outfit she’s wearing], Gray, who works at Surmesur, she was like, “Oh my god, I love this show. I’m from Surrey. My parents are both retired RCMP officers!” What a coincidence! The show has really impacted people from all walks of life who have pride, whether it’s [in] the city or [in] the portrayal of the police force. It’s great to hear from people who the show has impacted.
Are there other characters in Allegiance who, like Sabrina, are on aspirational paths of their own?
I like to think that all the characters are on their own aspirational path. The one that really gets explored in a beautiful way is Officer Gabinski. You’ll see it come across in terms of his arc this season. He does some things, but there’s a real grounded reason and a need for the actions that he takes. We see a real struggling human. I think there’s a lot of hope for that character.
Vince, too. From the start, Vince has been aspirational since he’s met Sabrina. There’s a real colliding of these two characters and what they do to each other and for each other. There’s a scene that Vince has in this season where he says, “You make us better. You make me better.” We really see how they’ve changed each other over the last three seasons. With every character on this show, the writers have done a great job fleshing that out.
Allegiance Season 3 premieres on Wednesday, January 7, on CBC and CBC Gem.
