Tag Archives: Kim’s Convenience

Link: ‘Kim’s Convenience’: Asian-Canadians finally find a show they say represents them

From Chloe Tejada of The Huffington Post Canada:

Link: ‘Kim’s Convenience’: Asian-Canadians finally find a show they say represents them
It’s been almost a year since #OscarsSoWhite took over the Internet, and although Hollywood has been making huge gains in putting people of colour on screen, Canada has been a bit slower on the uptake.

That has changed though with CBC’s “Kim’s Convenience.” The TV show, which had its series premiere on Tuesday, stars a diverse cast whose four lead actors are all of Asian descent — a rare sight in television. Continue reading.

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Link: Kim’s Convenience an overnight success for CBC

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.TV:

Link: Kim’s Convenience an overnight success for CBC
Overnight estimates — a measure that means less and less these days — are in and the numbers for Kim’s Convenience so far are right where I expected.

Tuesday’s back-to-back opener measured 835,000 and 805,000 viewers on the overnight scale. That was good enough for third in the timeslot in Canada behind Global’s strong rookie Bull(1,627,000) and just behind CTV’s well-reviewed import This Is Us(949,000). Continue reading.

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Kim’s Convenience: Janet’s Photos

The second episode of Kim’s Convenience gave viewers an opportunity to get to know some of the finer nuances of the main characters.

The cold open presented two of Janet’s (Andrea Bang) classmates, Gerald and Samira (Ben Beauchemen and Getenesh Berhe) who arrived to work on a mid-term project. However, they first ran the gauntlet that is Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee). Appa not only demanded proof of their work, but also a critique of his own photographic skills. It is scenes like these that set the viewer up to underestimate Appa, only to be caught unawares as he offered yet another cutting rejoinder, in this case his assessment of their work. Appa doesn’t fully understand Janet’s passion for photography and this led to some competitive behaviour from him. It was this enthusiasm  that resulted in some difficulties for Janet at school.

I mentioned in my review of Episode 1 that Jung (Simu Liu) is estranged from the rest of his family.  Much of this episode revolved around this breach, which was particularly difficult for Umma (Jean Yoon). She felt pressured to brag about her children’s successes and yet she was unable to fully rejoice in their accomplishments, particularly Jung’s. Jung, meanwhile, applied for the assistant manager position at his car rental company but where is the accomplishment in that when you dream your children will become a doctor or a lawyer? As children of immigrant parents, Jung and Janet are the source of constant anxiety to them. In the end, Jung got the job and even Umma was able to brag!

This was another solid episode. This is not just a sitcom—there is too much depth of character and too much emotion for it to be a comedy. This is not quirky or off the wall; this is real life. The familial relationships are those that anyone could see themselves in. Having friends who are newly immigrated to Canada, I can see their circumstances represented here. Then, to set this in Toronto … brilliant!

One more thing. It was fun seeing Hiro Kanagawa playing Pastor Choi! I loved him in Blackstone, iZombie, and The X-Files, so it was an added treat to see him here.

Kim’s Convenience airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Kim’s Convenience: Ins Choi can take pride in this debut

The long awaited—and much-hyped—debut of Kim’s Convenience finally aired on CBC on Tuesday, and here’s a bit of background in case you have missed it. Mr. Kim, a.k.a. “Appa” (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) and Mrs. Kim, “Umma” (Jean Yoon) immigrated to Canada from Korea in the 1980s, and own a convenience store in downtown Toronto. They have raised two children: Jung (Simu Liu) and Janet (Andrea Bang); Jung has been estranged from his father for several years and is working at a car rental shop, while Janet remains at home, attending college as an arts major and helping out at her parents’ store when she can.

The premiere episode, entitled “Gay Discount,” began as its title might suggest, with Mr. Kim offering a gay discount to his gay customers during Pride Week. There is no need to tell Mr. Kim you are gay, because he can tell. Mr. Kim has 100 per cent guarantee gay-dar. Word spreads of the discount. Some customers like it, some try to take advantage, whilst others find it completely discriminatory. Meanwhile, Mrs. Kim thinks it is time she found Janet a “cool Christian Korean boyfriend.” I have a feeling this will be an ongoing concern for Mrs. Kim, an annoyance for Janet, and provide many humourous situations in the weeks to come.

The other long story arc will focus on the rift between Appa and Jung, and the family’s desire to see it mended, making the family  whole again. But, it seems Jung will have his hands full with his enamoured manager, Shannon (Nicole Power).

As stories go, Kim’s Convenience is a fun show. I hope that the hype leading up to it doesn’t leave viewers expecting more than it delivers. Time will tell if Tuesday’s back-to-back episodes prove strong enough to keep viewers returning in the coming weeks. This was truly a charming beginning with some laugh-out-loud moments. The show features characters that are real. Series co-creator Ins Choi is not giving us humour at the expense of stereotypes, but rather he gives us believable characters we can connect with on a human level so we find the humour in the mundane. All told—very refreshing.

Kim’s Convenience is based on the award-winning play by Choi, who also adapted it for television. Kevin White serves as showrunner, and co-created the series with Choi, who both hold executive producer credits along with Thunderbird Films’ Ivan Fecan and Soulpepper Theatre Company’s Albert Schultz.

Kim’s Convenience airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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Link: Kim’s Convenience, and the method behind the seeming madness of CBC’s programming

From David Berry of The National Post:

Link: Kim’s Convenience, and the method behind the seeming madness of CBC’s programming
If nothing can be everything to everyone, the CBC can at least be nothing to anyone.

I don’t know that our public broadcaster will ever shake its reputation for striving cluelessness when it comes to what, exactly, Canadians want to see on television. There’s all that history, for a start, and it’s a nice convenient narrative that works for everyone from grumpy free-marketers who see “heritage funding” as just another term for setting their hard-earned tax dollars on fire to sniffing aesthetes who think art isn’t art unless each and every second of it is a punishing ordeal designed to shake your understanding of human experience to its very core. Continue reading. 

From Katherine Monk of The Ex-Press

New CBC sitcom exposes The Convenience Truth
Andrea Bang thanks the Toronto Blue Jays. Not only did the team win the required games to advance, they pushed back the network premiere of her new show, Kim’s Convenience.

The new CBC comedy based on Ins Choi’s award-winning Fringe play airs this evening, but it was originally slated to air last Tuesday – in the heat of the Blue Jays’ wild card bid. The network wisely aired the ballgame instead, but Bang wasn’t depressed about the delay. Continue reading.

From Courtney Shea of Toronto Life:

Link: Q&A: Ins Choi, the writer behind CBC’s new comedy Kim’s Convenience
In 2011, Kim’s Convenience upstaged every other show at the Toronto Fringe Festival and earned the Best New Play award for its creator, Ins Choi. Five years later, the comedy—about a Korean family and their variety store in Regent Park—is the centrepiece of CBC’s fall prime-time lineup, premiering tonight at 9 p.m. (it got bumped by the Blue Jays last Tuesday), and the first Canadian TV series to feature an entirely Asian cast. We spoke to Choi about the pressure of pioneering, why Kim’s Convenience isn’t a “Korean show” and how the Asian–North American entertainment community can bury Long Duk Dong once and for all. Continue reading.

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