Kim’s Convenience ran for five seasons on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. The show follows the Kim family, a Korean-Canadian family who run a convenience store in downtown Toronto. The premise is simple: a father and son, separated by a fight that happened when the son was 16, try to live side by side in the same small business. What makes it work is the writing, the casting, and the refusal to treat the family’s immigrant experience as a costume.
Trailer, via The Canadian Academy.
The Family That Runs the Store
Mr. and Mrs. Kim, known as Appa and Umma, immigrated to Toronto in the 1980s and settled near Regent Park. They raised two children, Jung and Janet, who are now young adults. The show opens with Jung having left home after a fight with Appa that involved stolen money and a physical clash. Since then, father and son have been estranged.
The central relationship is the engine of the series. Appa, played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, is a man of fixed habits and sharp pride, a man who built a life in Canada with his hands and his stubbornness. Janet, played by Andrea Bang, is her mother’s daughter, quick-witted and often exasperated by her father’s antics. Jung, played by Simu Liu, is the son who walked out and has spent years trying to prove himself outside the family business.
The show also includes Jung’s friend and co-worker Kimchee Han, played by Andrew Phung, and the store’s manager Shannon, played by Nicole Power. These supporting characters give the show its comic energy, but the heart of the story belongs to the three Kims.
From Stage to Screen
Kim’s Convenience began as a play by Ins Choi. The series is based on that 2011 stage work, and the show’s creators are Choi and Kevin White, who previously wrote for Corner Gas. The first season was filmed from June to August 2016 at Showline Studios in Toronto. It is produced by Thunderbird Films in conjunction with Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company.
Lee and Yoon reprised their roles from the play for the TV adaptation. The transition from stage to screen kept the same actors in the same family, which gave the show a sense of continuity that many adaptations lose. The result is a show that feels rooted in its origins while still moving forward.
Seasons and Streaming
The show premiered on October 11, 2016. Its second season began on September 26, 2017. The third season started on January 8, 2019, and the fourth on January 7, 2020. On March 31, 2020, the show was renewed for two more seasons. Then, on March 8, 2021, it was revealed that the show would end after the fifth season.
| Season | Premiere Date | Final Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11, 2016 | N/A |
| 2 | September 26, 2017 | N/A |
| 3 | January 8, 2019 | N/A |
| 4 | January 7, 2020 | N/A |
| 5 | April 13, 2021 | April 13, 2021 |
The show became available outside of Canada in July 2018, when it debuted internationally on Netflix. Since January 2020, however, it has been removed from some markets, including the Netherlands, which means the fourth season is not available to a worldwide audience. That decision has limited the show’s reach, but it did not change how the show was made or received.
Comedy That Earns Its Heart
Kim’s Convenience is a comedy, but it is not a broad one. The humor comes from the tension between tradition and modernity, between a father who wants his son to follow him and a son who wants to escape him. The jokes land because they are specific to the family’s situation, not because they are loud.
The show also handles serious subjects with care. The estrangement between Appa and Jung is not resolved quickly. The show spends its entire run letting the wound breathe, showing the small daily gestures that keep it open and then slowly start to heal. The comedy works because the stakes are real.
The Ensemble That Makes It Work
The ensemble is the show’s greatest strength. Lee brings a gruff warmth to Appa, a man who is both proud and deeply unsure of himself. Bang plays Janet with a sharp intelligence that keeps her grounded even as her family drives her crazy. Liu’s Jung is the show’s emotional center, a man who left home to find himself and found only a different kind of loneliness.
Phung’s Kimchee is the show’s comic relief, a loyal friend who understands Jung better than Jung understands himself. Power’s Shannon rounds out the cast as a patient manager who has learned to navigate the family’s eccentricities. Together, they create a world that feels lived-in and honest.
What Happens Next
Kim’s Convenience ended its run on April 13, 2021. The show’s influence can be seen in other shows about immigrant families, though comparisons are difficult to make directly. The show’s success also opened doors for Asian-Canadian talent, including Simu Liu, who went on to star in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The show proved that stories about Asian families could be mainstream without losing their specificity. It told a story about family, immigration, and identity without once leaning on stereotype or easy punchlines.
Why It Earns a 10
Kim’s Convenience earns a 10 out of 10 because it does everything it sets out to do. It tells a story about family, immigration, and identity without once leaning on stereotype or easy punchlines. The show trusts its audience to sit with discomfort, to laugh at awkward moments, and to feel the weight of a family that has carried its burdens for decades.
The writing is sharp, the performances are precise, and the heart is genuine. It is a show that respects its characters and rewards its viewers. There is no wasted scene, no filler episode, no moment where the show loses focus. Every episode builds toward the resolution that finally arrives in the final season.
Kim’s Convenience is a masterclass in how to do comedy-drama right. It is a show that deserves its reputation and its 10 out of 10 rating.
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