{"id":48013,"date":"2025-12-05T01:55:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=48013"},"modified":"2025-12-03T14:44:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T22:44:17","slug":"unique-interview-show-a-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/unique-interview-show-a-hit\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique interview show a hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Margaux Wosk is a cast member of The Assembly, currently streaming on CBC Gem. (photo by Erich Saide \/ The Assembly)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am so proud of what we accomplished,\u201d Margaux Wosk told the Independent<\/i> about The Assembly<\/i>, which is now streaming on CBC Gem. \u201cThe show offers fresh perspectives on autism and highlights how diverse autistic experiences can be. It also makes for authentic interviews, because no questions are off the table, which is rare to see in mainstream programming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having watched the show, I couldn\u2019t agree more. Produced by Vancouver-based production company Small Army Entertainment, The Assembly<\/i> is entertaining. The way in which everyone interacts is refreshingly respectful, the content of the questions is unexpected and the honesty from both the interviewers and interviewees makes for compelling viewing. Everyone comes off as down-to-earth, friendly, with joys and fears most of us have experienced, just in different ways. In the inaugural season, the cast comprises more than 40 autistic and neurodivergent British Columbians interviewing six celebrities \u2013 Howie Mandel (America\u2019s Got Talent<\/i>), Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever<\/i>), singer-songwriter Jann Arden, Allan Hawco (Saint-Pierre<\/i>), Arlene Dickinson (Dragon\u2019s Den<\/i>) and comedian Russell Peters \u2013 over the course of six episodes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to CBC, the show is adapted from a French program, Les rencontres du Papotin<\/i>, which started in 2022 on France 2 and became so popular that it has been commissioned in 19 countries to date. It was renamed The Assembly<\/i> for British audiences, which is how it has been imported into Canada. But the origins go back even further, notes CBC \u2013 \u201cThe TV program was inspired by a real-life newspaper that has been written and published by autistic journalists since 1990.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wosk found out about the Canadian production via a Small Army Entertainment social media post.<\/p>\n

The casting process took more than a year, according to CBC. \u201cProducers worked with professional organizations within the autistic community to find people who would be interested in appearing on the show. Once selected, they were provided with some background information about each celebrity guest, but it was up to them to do their own research and decide how much or how little they would prepare,\u201d says a Nov. 6 CBC Gem post.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe received information about each guest and submitted about five questions each,\u201d said Wosk. \u201cThese were then narrowed down to the best questions, and the team made sure there were no duplicates from other cast members. This process allowed us to craft questions that were both meaningful and unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filming took place in various places. \u201cWe filmed mostly during the summer at a few locations around the city that had natural lighting to accommodate people with light sensitivity, like myself,\u201d said Wosk, who wanted to participate in the show for a few reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love public speaking, and I wanted to help reduce the stigma around what autistic people are capable of,\u201d they said. \u201cI also wanted to reclaim my narrative. My childhood was difficult in many ways, so being able to feel empowered and share my perspective as an adult is really meaningful to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wosk serves as president of BC People First, where they support self-advocacy and inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They have written for or been featured in numerous publications and been interviewed for radio and other media many times. They received a BC Achievement Community Award this year, recognizing that their work with BC People First \u201cbreaks down barriers, fosters pride and amplifies underrepresented perspectives through creativity, advocacy and education\u201d; that their business, Retrophiliac, empowers \u201cothers to express themselves, reduce stigma and build community\u201d; that, in their leadership on accessibility, education and business development, their artwork and other initiatives, they are \u201ca strong voice for inclusion, pride and important systemic change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retrophiliac \u201csells items focused on disability, neurodiversity and self-expression, as well as communication cards that help people communicate,\u201d and has a couple of access points: retrophiliac.etsy.com<\/a> and shopretrophiliac.com<\/a>. Wosk\u2019s website is margauxwosk.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One particularly exciting moment for me as a viewer of The Assembly<\/i>, though I only know Wosk slightly through some volunteer work we\u2019ve done, was when Arden, as she was chatting with some of the interviewers after the main filming, said Wosk looked \u201ckick ass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d said Wosk when I asked how it felt to hear that. \u201cI had planned my outfit weeks in advance for each taping, and my sense of style is really important to me. It is one of the ways I express my personality, so hearing Jann Arden compliment it felt very affirming and special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wosk isn\u2019t the only Jewish community member on The Assembly<\/i>. I recognized Lyle Lexier and Wosk thought there might be another. CBC didn\u2019t respond to my emails.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope viewers have their assumptions about autism challenged and reduced,\u201d said Wosk about the show. \u201cI also hope they enjoy seeing Canadian celebrities and public figures answer questions in ways they probably have not seen elsewhere, giving a deeper sense of how human and relatable they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

To watch The Assembly<\/i>, go to gem.cbc.ca<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Margaux Wosk is a cast member of The Assembly, currently streaming on CBC Gem. (photo by Erich Saide \/ The Assembly) \u201cI am so proud of what we accomplished,\u201d Margaux Wosk told the Independent about The Assembly, which is now streaming on CBC Gem. \u201cThe show offers fresh perspectives on autism and highlights how diverse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[787],"tags":[3680,985,22212,21691,24481,24479,24482,24480],"class_list":["post-48013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-film","tag-autism","tag-cbc","tag-cbc-gem","tag-margaux-wosk","tag-neurodivergent","tag-retrophiliac","tag-small-army-entertainment","tag-the-assembly"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}