Just as viewers settled in to watch season 5 of Kim’s Convenience, which hit Netflix on June 2, one of its stars explained why a sixth season will never happen. Simu Liu, who played the soulful Jung, admitted to “feeling a host of emotions” about the Canadian series finding a larger audience in his lengthy Facebook post. He then detailed his feelings about a behind-the-scenes culture at Kim’s Convenience that left Liu “increasingly frustrated.”
He began his post by clarifying the circumstances surrounding Kim’s Convenience ending. “The show can’t be ‘saved,’” Liu wrote. “It was not ‘cancelled’ in a traditional manner, i.e. by a network after poor ratings. Our producers (who also own the Kim’s Convenience IP) are the ones who chose not to continue.” Liu also dispelled rumors that his lead role in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings prevented him from appearing in the show. “I wanted to be a part of the sixth season,” he wrote. “I’ve heard a lot of speculation surrounding myself – specifically, about how getting a Marvel role meant I was suddenly too ‘Hollywood’ for Canadian TV. This could not be further from the truth. I love this show and everything it stood for. I saw firsthand how profoundly it impacted families and brought people together.”
Despite his reverence for the sitcom, Liu shared that he was “growing increasingly frustrated with the way my character was being portrayed and, somewhat related, was also increasingly frustrated with the way I was being treated.” He expressed disappointment that his ideas about Jung were not taken into more consideration as the show continued. Liu noted the lack of collaboration “was doubly confusing because our producers were overwhelmingly white and we were a cast of Asian Canadians who had a plethora of lived experiences to draw from and offer to writers.” He added, “I remain fixated on the missed opportunities to show Asian characters with real depth and the ability to grow and evolve.”
The 32-year-old also lamented the Kim’s Convenience writer’s room, which “lacked both East Asian and female representation,” as well as “a pipeline to introduce diverse talents.” Liu wrote that besides cocreator Ins Choi, who adapted the show from his own play, “there were no other Korean voices in the room. And personally I do not think he did enough to be a champion for those voices (including ours). When he left (without so much as a goodbye note to the cast), he left no protege, no padawan learner, no Korean talent that could have replaced him.” However, Liu maintained that the “actual day-to-day crew… were PHENOMENAL.”
Liu then took issue with the cast’s compensation. “For how successful the show actually became, we were paid an absolute horsepoop rate,” he wrote, mentioning *Schitt’s Creek—*another Canadian import which gained mass popularity on Netflix. “Compared to shows like Schitt’s Creek, who had ‘brand-name talent’ with American agents, but whose ratings were not as high as ours, we were making NOTHING.” Liu said that his show’s cast “never banded together and demanded more” in part because “we were told to be grateful to even be there” and “also because we were too busy infighting to understand that we were deliberately being pitted against each other.”
While the future of Kim’s Convenience may be dim, a spinoff series called Strays is set to premiere in September. That show will center on the character of Shannon, played by Nicole Powers. “I love and am proud of Nicole, and I want the show to succeed for her… but I remain resentful of all of the circumstances that led to the one non-Asian character getting her own show,” Liu wrote. “And not that they would ever ask, but I will adamantly refuse to reprise my role in any capacity.”
Despite his various grievances with the culture at Kim’s Convenience, Liu concluded his post by writing, “I still believe in what the show once stood for; a shining example of what can happen when the gates come down and minorities are given a chance to shine.”
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