On April 13, CBC will air the series finale for the groundbreaking family sitcom Kim’s Convenience, as reported by The Toronto Sun. The series ran for five seasons and followed the day-to-day misadventures of Korean-Canadian family that operates a corner store in Toronto. It was created by Ins Choi (Millions) and Kevin White (Schitt’s Creek), and based on Choi’s stage play of the same name. Both Choi and White publicly left the show at the beginning of March, according to TV-Eh. A public press statement reported that both men had moved on to other projects, via The Toronto Star.
In an interview with The Calgary Herald, lead actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (The Mandalorian), who originated the role of Mr. Kim in the 2011 theatrical production, revealed that Choi allegedly started planning his exit from the program in December 2020, which set off chain reaction that culminated in the decision to conclude the show. “There was a huge discussion about whether [or not] we should continue… It was discussed among the cast, and because I’m the lead actor I said, ‘We all need to go or none of us go. We all need agreement on this if we’re going to make a go of it,'” Lee recalled, via The Calgary Herald.
Supporting cast member Andrew Phung (Wynonna Earp) proposed in recent interview that Choi was stressed out by his showrunner duties: “I kind of knew that there was always a potential of him stepping away… Making TV is hard. It takes so much time and so much out of you and I think that, for him, he just wanted to spend time with his kids and was really burnt out,” via The Toronto Star. Phung also claims that Choi saw the season five finale as a series finale, The Toronto Star reports.
Even though the Kim clan’s story is ending, a spinoff titled Strays is allegedly in development at CBC from co-showrunner White, as reported by Deadline. The upcoming half-hour series is reportedly set in Ontario and centered on Nicole Power’s (Private Eyes) character Shannon Ross, Deadline reports.
The Kim’s Convenience series finale, titled “Friends and Family,” airs on CBC at 8 P.M. Eastern. Lee will host YouTube live-stream after the episode where he will reflect on his time on the show, chat with fans, and give away signed memorabilia, according to a post on his personal Twitter account: