{"id":17,"date":"2021-03-17T12:37:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T16:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201-winter-2021\/?p=17"},"modified":"2021-03-24T21:58:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T01:58:34","slug":"kims-convenience-closing-up-shop-after-fifth-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201-winter-2021\/2021\/03\/17\/kims-convenience-closing-up-shop-after-fifth-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim\u2019s Convenience Closing Up Shop after Fifth Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Rachael Masih<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\"CBC
Kim’s Convenience Cast (Credit CBC media centre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kim\u2019s Convenience\u2019s fifth season will be its last. The producers decided to stop production after co-creators of the show, Ins Choi and Kevin White, chose to move on to new projects. The series finale airs Tuesday, April 13th at 8 p.m. (8:30NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cancellation shocked Torontonians who thought the show had more time. CBC renewed the show for two additional seasons, but only completed one before the closure was announced. Fans are disappointed and so are the cast and crew who spent five years or more becoming the Kim family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Given their departure [Ins Choi and Kevin White] from the series, we have come to the difficult conclusion that we cannot deliver another season of the same heart and quality that has made the show so special,” said the producers in their official statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim\u2019s Convenience had a tangible authenticity that audiences could sense. The show provided opportunities for Korean actors to play well-rounded characters.<\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They are three-dimensional characters with wants, with hopes, with needs, with fears. And that’s what’s so exciting about playing them as an actor of color, because we’ve been so cut off from playing real people,” said Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who played Mr. Kim, in an interview with NPR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ins Choi based the characters and places in the show on his own Scarborough upbringing. His story revolved around a quirky Korean-Canadian family and their convenience store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim\u2019s Convenience began as a stage show in 2012 and Choi later adapted it for the screen. Kim\u2019s Convenience became the first Canadian sit-com to cast primarily Asian-Canadian actors. It gained a mass following and critical acclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m heartbroken. I feel like my journey with Jung was cut short. I feel like you, the fans, deserved better,\u201d said Simu Liu, who played Jung Kim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans felt the same. They  rallied together to try and keep the show running with #SaveKimsConvenience. Viewers released two active petitions, with one gaining 4,471 online signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether the show gets saved or not, it\u2019s made its mark on Canadians and will inspire more people to embrace minority voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust putting an immigrant family at the centre of a show set in Toronto… I think makes a big difference, just in terms of shifting the norm,\u201d said Liu\u00a0in an interview with CityNews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n