The CBC had renewed Kim's Convenience for Season 6. The producers said yesterday that co-creators Ins Choi and Kevin White are moving on. The CBC show will come to a conclusion after Season 5.
The Canadian TV show is based from the Ins Choi 2011 play of the same name. Season 5 is underway in Canada on the CBC; the final episode will air April 13.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Jean Yoon played Appa and Umma in the play as well as the TV series. Andrea Bang (Janet) and Simu Liu (Jung) were the kids. Andrew Phung played Kimchee, Jung's best friend, roommate, and co-worker while Nicole Power played Shannon, the boss of Jung and Kimchee.
To my fellow costars. @bitterasiandude @jean_yoon @SimuLiu @NicolePower3 and Andrea Bang, it was the greatest honour to watch you act, learn from you, and act alongside you. Every day with you with an absolute joy. I’m so proud of everything we created and cherish all moments... pic.twitter.com/dL6tgRvrNO
— Andrew Phung (@andrewphung) March 8, 2021
Schitt's Creek ended after 6 seasons. As difficult as that news was, fans got a chance to know a final season was coming with an ideal ending. Kim's Convenience shot Season 5 without that certainty. We don't know how the show will end but the ending might not have been how Choi and White wanted the show to end.
Kim's Convenience will end with 65 episodes and 5 seasons.
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Kim's Convenience beat out a number of great shows to make our list of the top TV shows of the previous decade. That was only after 3 seasons. The characters were flawed and wonderful to watch. The minor characters were well-crafted in dialogue and acting. A joy to watch and will be sorely missed.
Kim's Convenience had found a home outside Canada on Netflix. Season 5 will debut later in 2021 on Netflix.
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The news come on the heels of another Canadian TV show — successful inside and outside Canada — coming to an end. CBC announced that Frankie Drake Mysteries is done after Season 4. The series finale aired last night on CBC.
Unlike Kim's Convenience, the CBC cancelled Frankie Drake Mysteries.
The female detective show was set n 1920's Toronto and featured the talents of Lauren Lee Smith (Frankie Drake), Chantel Riley (Trudy Clarke), Rebecca Liddiard (morality officer Mary Shaw), and Sharron Matthews (morgue attendant Flo Chakowitz).
The show also had great supporting efforts from a variety of people, especially Wendy Crewson, Karen Robinson, and Grace Lynn Kung. Interestingly, Kung played Janet in the play Kim's Convenience.
Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci created a wonderful show where the women were battling gender stereotypes while solving cases. The show was a nice companion piece to Murdoch Mysteries; both Hay and Ricci were writers and producers on that series.
The show finishes with 41 episodes and 4 seasons. Frankie Drake Mysteries runs on Ovation as well as PBS in the United States. The show also runs in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and in Europe.
The series finale ran on International Women's Day. In an era where diversity is in vogue, cancelling Frankie Drake Mysteries seems like a not smart move. CBC rescued Murdoch Mysteries after Citytv cancelled the program after 5 seasons. Murdoch Mysteries is completing his 14th overall season next week.
Kim's Convenience and Frankie Drake Mysteries are available in Canada on CBC Gem.
photo credits: Kim's Convenience Instagram; Frankie Drake Mysteries/CBC
Twitter capture: @andrewphung
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