Kim's Convenience (TV Series 2016–2021) Poster

(2016–2021)

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8/10
Great comedy
Calicodreamin3 June 2021
A great comedy, the cast have chemistry and the storylines are well developed. Each episode brings laughter and an occasional heartfelt moment. Ok, see you!
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8/10
An intercultural tour de force
rayca71 September 2018
I have to start my review by stating that my wife, a Korean-American, doesn't really understand this show. Like many people who grew up in a different culture and moved as adults, she fails to see that it captures some of her actions, habits, and attributes perfectly. I lived in Korea for six years, have been married to a Korean for over 40 years, and have had extensive contact with expatriate Korean communities, so when I say this gets them pretty accurately, while at the same time being really funny--without being too insensitive--I think I know what I'm talking about. I particular identify with the travails of the children of the family, who are more Canadian than Korean, as evidenced by their terrible Korean pronunciation and frustration with many of their parents' ideas. I watched my two youngest go through much the same with their mother, and looking back on it, realize it was pretty funny. Some of the humor will probably be lost on an American audience, especially older Asian-Americans, but if you watch enough episodes, things become clear. Another outstanding offering from our friends in Canada, who seem to be dominating the TV landscape these days.
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9/10
Cancelled
snelling10 March 2021
I cannot believe they are wrapping this up after Season Five. It was a great very funny show. And I know someone will replace it with more garbage and utter crap.
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10/10
Great comedy
treetops42213 October 2016
Mr kim is really funny. A different kind of humor that reminds me a little of King of Queens if anything. I'm not Asian and I love it, its a one size fits all.

A lot of family comedies are overly corny and you say to yourself this is just to stupid I can't watch it anymore. For the last 2 episodes this has not been the case for Kims Convenience. Mr Kim says what a lot of us are thinking. Or at least a realistic portrayal of one mans point of view.

It's also quite unique on a cultural level. I tried to leave it out of the review and judge it on its own merit, but its refreshing and adds to the originality. No its not a lesson on Asian culture, but something different, that works.

The show is not wall to wall laughs and its not supposed to be. However Mister Kim puts out some one liners that will have you laughing out loud, not just saying lol. That mixed with mr kims outspoken ideals on current event makes for a decent show. I look forward to more episodes.
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10/10
Very surprised
khaines-878017 December 2016
Watched the 1st 8 episodes in a row by 3rd was hooked. TV needs more of these gentle comedies without the raunchy plots and sexual overtones or violence which dominates most programs today. Very impressed for a Canadian production . The main character is very likable and I like the banter between him and his friend in the show. Not sure why they have the son and father distanced in the show but probably for plot lines later on n the series. I give the show at least 4 seasons and would not be surprised to see it get a bot of a cult following to it. looking forward to the rest of the season as I have watched 9 to date. Would surely recommend any family or kids to watch it as it is very tame in script.
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10/10
All the Things the Other Guys Missed
vriosart14 July 2017
I really love comedies, I grew up watching all the black and white classics and sitcoms were a staple of mine, foreign comedies are my go- to and nothing is better than a good laugh. This show? It's everything my little first generation born heart has yearned for in a comedy. In the vein of Cristella and Fresh off the Boat, this show is about an immigrant/first generation family and their day to day life in this ever changing, ever expanding community of the North Americas. But it's So. Much. Better. It's everything I had hoped from Cristella (as a child of Mexican immigrants) and what Fresh off the Boat just missed the mark on in terms of realism. It is an honest family show that echos so many of my own experiences and gives me such a happy outlook on them.

This is such a great show and you won't be disappointed. The writing, the acting, the directing, all of it is just fantastic.
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8/10
Not your standard CBC show
elyseparkerwoods20 October 2016
This show has been papering Toronto in billboards but i still completely missed it. Cute, fun, airy - it's very broad in its appeal while still feeling very specific to the immigrant/2nd generation experience.

I also very much enjoyed seeing different communities interact on the show; it pokes fun at minority-minority friction which is hardly ever seen on TV

Regent Park neighborhood holds a lot of memories from my youth, and they do a decent job of getting the setting down, even with the pretty funny sitcom style comedy

Definitely worth a watch, the CBC fall 2016 line up has been stacked so far!
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9/10
This Fringe Festival Gem continues to charm
yolanda_m_f27 October 2016
This show lives up to my hopes! The Kim family's smiling faces have been showing up everywhere in Toronto the past few weeks, and after seeing the original play the series was based on I was thrilled to see what started as a gem from the Fringe reach a broader audience nation- wide.

Kim's convenience is fun, full or heart, and the series is finding its stride more and more with each episode. It's rooted in a flawed but deeply loving family and these relationships are so relate-able. I find this so much more satisfying than the typical family sitcom about about ultra-rich or ultra-poor families portrayed as 'just your average family.' Kim's Convenience, in being true to its characters, finds an honesty that's refreshing.
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9/10
A wholesome version of The Simpsons
orujeedawa16 August 2017
I was highly impressed by by Kim's Convenience. Characters both main and supporting are all very strong and well written -- meaning all of them can definitely hold their own story lines in episodes. I absolutely loved when the writers would have story lines which would focus on one of the main characters as well as supports (need more Mr. Kim and Kimchi adventures!).

All in all this is one of the most wholesome shows on TV I've enjoyed in a long time; definitely fun for the whole family!
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6/10
Great show - Terrible last season
carlotaemail14 June 2021
I really enjoyed watching this show, especially since I've watched many dramas on Netflix this year. I loved all the diverse friends/store customers/church folks/ and car rental crew! Most seasons were funny and you could see characters grow and learn. The last season was terrible. It left me thinking What? Sad to see a good show end suddenly without completing everyone's story and with the characters not being true to their personality. Too bad.
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9/10
It's actually funny
JDx_8213 October 2016
As part Asian and a big fan of TV shows this of course is a show for me. These days it seems very hard to make a comedy that's actually funny, but believe me, there were some laughs that you could here if you listen good.

For me this means everything for a comedy show, because in shows like The Big Bang or Silicon Valley the jokes are just not that funny. You hear the laughing tape and you think... this was a joke?

I am also a big fan of Fresh off the Boat and after two episodes this comes close, not really close, but close, because that is really one of my favorite comedy shows right now.

So I gave it a 9, maybe I would say a 8, but for a comedy that is actually funny these days I believe they deserve a 9. By the way, anyone else thinks Janet looks like a Korean Yvonne Strahovski?
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6/10
Had so much promise, won many awards but eventually imploded and ended disappointingly
jiangkejia9 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The public spat between the actors and scriptwriters/producers really soured my enjoyment of this series, culminating in a wth and hugely disappointing moment at the last episode of the finale season. Why? Because people couldn't come together, unite and give this series the final respects it deserved.

As an Asian, I felt immense pride watching this series anchored around an Asian community in a predominantly Caucasian country. I found joy in resonating with the Asian stereotypes and jokes. It was no doubt a hit and I'm glad it won its share of awards in the first few seasons.

It was disappointing to see how it was suddenly cancelled and eventually how the dirt was aired, revealing much discord among the actors and the production.

How has something that originated from an Asian (Ins Choi) end up being usurped by Kevin White - who would know nothing about the Asian culture? The way Season 5 was done felt half-hearted, the jokes were mostly unfunny and how it ended - insincere. I've seen many solid TV series conclude succinctly after their many seasons. It ends with a sense of nostalgia and with loose ends tied up. This? Abrupt and a sense of leaving the viewers a "That's it?!" moment.

Such a pity. In the end, everyone loses.
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3/10
Hard to rate fairly with current downhill slide
swalker-1730513 June 2021
The show is, without doubt, one of our favorite sitcoms, Canadian or US. But there is a trend by sitcom writers to make the characters "MORE" as they go along. Any eccentricity is exaggerated as success follows and the years pass. Consequently all the funny foibles of KC characters have become ridiculous. Umma and Appa have become mean, deceitful, nasty, and dishonest. Janet is as dumb as ever. No point in listing the other cast. Same applies.

I miss the earlier seasons and we do watch them every few months. But I won't miss the series upon cancellation as I thought I would.
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9/10
Surprisingly cute
just_in_case11 August 2018
Ill admit 5 seconds in I was almost offended but immediately it laid into jokes not about racial caricatures but about family and life for korean-americans. Theres a charming honesty to it that begs me to believe the players are real. There's a part in the first episode where the mr kims inquires as to why a drag queen chooses to live the way they do and its not funny. I mean theres no any joke. The whole scene has warmth. They pick and choose where to make us laugh and theres no laugh track thank god. Im hooked.
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9/10
An Unexpected Gem
JLPDX11 May 2021
For a long time I steered clear of Kim's Convenience (PTSD from Margaret Cho's 90s attempt All American Girl) but Covid lock-downs drove me to delve deeper into Netflix. Charming, gentle, humorous and NO laughtrack. The cast works beautifully together but the standout is Paul Sun Hyung Lee as Sang-il, patriarch and store owner - brilliantly comical in all his broken English glory.

And kudos to Kimchee, Umma Kim and ditzy boss Shannon - all shine as the foils to the rest of the Kim clan. It's a wonderful cast, beautifully written and the type of presentation emblamatic of Canada's longstanding tradition of comic greatness.
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10/10
I wish there were more on TV as good as this!!
I-like-cake9 December 2017
This show has all the style elements of the best comedies. Perceptive observations of quirky human behavior, the funny contrasts that result when cultures collide, and the family interactions of people who love each other but who also enjoy being independent. The writing is excellent, and the actors do the very best job possible with their lines- and they get extra points for the occasional physical gag. It's a show the whole family will enjoy, which is rare enough. All that makes this show a real treasure. And thankfully, no laugh track.
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10/10
I hope this show goes on forever
atdmv25 March 2021
I love everything about this show - the characters, the storylines, the humor, and even a little education. Makes you feel like you know the people personally.
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10/10
I can only see it thru my own eyes
plee-0332329 October 2016
I can only see this story through my own biased eyes. It's beautiful to know that others can relate regardless of where you're from.

It's about a Canadian story from the1980s when many convenience stores were Korean owned. Before them, it was the Italians and Jewish communities, which must have had their own versions of zany patriotic parents and teenage kids wanting to "fit in". Glad to see this story woven into the fabric of our country and I hope a wider audience can connect with the stories and characters.

My Korean family lived on top of a convenience store in Roncesvalles and I used to joke: "when I'm at school, I'm in Canada - at home, I'm in Korea."

The story does well to use Mr. Kim's motherland mindset against the backdrop of modern Toronto (e.g. "the discount") without being over the top. Other scenes like the preening between the ladies at church could be any temple, office, or gym. The actors and the dialogue are in a solid comedic rhythm, bouncing along happily.

Looking forward to the rest of the season!
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9/10
On Netflix solely for this!
jolinemails3 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
As a prelude, I was born to a Chinese family in a metropolitan city in multi-cultural Malaysia, and have lived a good 4-5 years in Indiana, USA, during my college years; so I can definitely vouch for the authenticity of the nuanced experiences which the cast poignantly (and humorously) captures. I have some South Korean friends who aren't native English speakers, and would say that their accents are very similar to the ones of the Korean parents on the show.

My (2nd/3rd-gen) parents are somewhat like Appa and Umma (my dad kinda pledges pretty strong alliance with China and the traditional Chinese culture, even though he wasn't born there nor did he live there, and my mum's perennially anxious or excitable about the smallest of things and prides herself being modern yet full of proper...Chinese/Asian morals). I can't say that my brothers are like Jung, but I think we (being 3rd? 4th? generation immigrants) can relate with feeling displaced in a cosmopolitan culture that fuses both Eastern and Western values in rapidly changing modern times (e.g. Janet evidently speaks Korean poorly, and I have a freakish penchant for mastering the English language more than the Chinese language, whereas my brothers--and many other Malaysian youths--don't master any single language, not even their own supposed mother tongues).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, like what some of the reviews have said, it's refreshing to find a good comedy series that doesn't rely on cheap gags or laugh tracks, and delivers a very humane narrative so full of little slices-of-life that are completely believable to be based on real family experiences (although to really get it, you'd probably have to be from or live with an Asian immigrant family, or know many East Asians).

I laughed a lot (as in genuinely, MORE than mere chuckles; not even New Girl, which I also quite enjoy get this much from me). Teared up a few times, even. The show really touched my heart with its very thoughtful script, direction and delivery. Keep up the good work, team! Will recommend. OKAY, SEE YOU!
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7/10
Cute show of simple pleasures
Samiam317 July 2017
Mr. Kim, a potbellied Korean forty-something, runs a cornerstone in eastern downtown Toronto. He has a loving wife, a peppy daughter (Janet), who is easily annoyed with his every move and a son (Jung) who he no longer speaks to. The show highlights the little ups and downs in the lives of all four Kims, but he owns the show.

Played with love by Paul Sun Hyung Lee. Mr. Kim is a curious animal: Smart but awkward, inquisitive but stubborn, most of the humour in the show comes out of a cute shtick of his; he speaks intelligently in broken English. In the punchline of a scene, he walks through the front door to find his wife dancing with an old beau, With a very deliberate look of disapproval on his face, he asks ... "Could someone please tell to me what it is I am seeing!?."

Mrs. Kim, played by Jean Yoon is also cute. She is the kind of mother who will run your forgotten scarf to school for you, even if you are a rebellious adoclecent. She is whimsically anxious about things that never cross her husband's mind. Her fears about Janet not finding a boyfriend (preferably an eventual husband.) is one of the show's less original jokes. The hidden gem of the show is Jung's female boss, who so clearly has a thing for him. This is the TV debut of Nicole Power, who brings a funny but credible balance of pizazz and awkwardness.

One season in, the series is young but it has much growing to do. It gets by on its whim and quirky dialog.
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10/10
Easily the Best Currently Running Sitcom!
Bluechinaspecial11 April 2019
This show is smart, very well written, the characters are fully dimensional and developed and it's FUNNY. The fact that it's a groundbreaking cast in terms of diversity on television is secondary to the quality of this series. I find it a little irritating that most of the buzz around KC is race-related. It ain't "Crazy Rich Asians". It's just crazy good.
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7/10
Great show but poorly executed at times.
krey-701059 July 2021
Love watching this show for the comedy, diversity, and the actors. It's interesting to see the lives and the culture of this Asian family but some episodes felt sloppy. They would randomly make major character changes and disregard it the next episode.
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5/10
Not for me
poinla3719 August 2020
I am born Korean, French adopted. I love Korean movies, not so much the Korean Tv shows as they're often cheesy. I did enjoy watching Fresh off the boat as it had a Malcom vibe and deliberately play with the Chinese stereotypes. This serie though, has been very painful to watch. I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but I find the characters too hysterical and extreme, there's no half measure. And it's obviously not better with the forced and strong accents. I've seen Korean movies in which they speak better English. Maybe it's what the Korean community is like in the USA, but I feel like it's a bit too much, forced and cliché, but maybe I'm just wrong... Well, you might enjoy it, but you might also not get into it....
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10/10
Hilarious, Progressive, and Family Friendly
payasoingenioso24 May 2021
Mr Kim truly is hilarious. Absolutely wonderful to watch.

The storyline is great so far.

The children and wife are so entertaining.

And the pastor and Mrs Kim are excellent.

I have only watched three episodes so far, but I am overly impressed.

I would not usually rate a show this early, but I see no failure for this show. And I will revise accordingly if that ever happens.
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10/10
Great acting and superb writing = Best TV Comedy...I laughed 'til I cried
Ed-Shullivan30 March 2017
I have been taping the weekly episodes since this series was first released and just recently Ms. Shullivan and I decided to sit down and see what this series "Kim's Convenience" had to offer. Boy oh boy were we in for a big surprise! It sometimes takes a few episodes before an audience gets into the rhythm of a comedy series but such was not the case with Kim's Convenience. We just loved it from the very first episode.

It must be said that the entire Kim family from Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) who is the dad, Umma (Jean Yoon) who is the mom, Janet (Andrea Bang) who is the faithful daughter who works in the store, lives upstairs with her parents and goes to an arts school, and the estranged son/brother Jung (Simu Liu) who felt he had to leave his parents home because as a young adult he was a bit of a bad boy, all have a unique personality. But combined....BAM!!!! This is a winner of a TV sitcom which I am sure will be picked up by a major U.S. network if they have any sense of what sells at all.

Personally, my favorite family member is the mom Umma played by Jean Yoon who combines a bit of the old Korean traditions with a whimsical sense of Canadiana in her behaviors as well as with her "sometime yes, and sometimes no" acceptance with her two children's choices in life with school, work and their friends. Appa and Umma have raised their daughter and son quite well in the city of Toronto Ontario Canada by working long hours in their corner convenience store and of course there is an eclectic group of customers who come in to the store daily and ultimately into the live's of the Kim family.

I also must give high praise to the series writers whose weekly episodes are so different, typically focus on alternate family members each week, as well as on the Kim families store customers, and/or their friends and family members. Ms. Shullivan and I are big fans of the CBC's Murdoch Mystery TV series (Read my full review on this series as well) which combines superior mysteries, with historical and witty stories of the city of Toronto at the turn of the 19th century. Now CBC has also delivered to their viewing audience just a fantastic comedy series that shows such great potential for growing its audience globally and we in the Canadian market are oh so proud to call it one of our own successes.

Ms. Shullivan and I just love it and the weekly episodes writing is so much better than a lot of the U.S. comedy canned laughter filled series that are on the air polluting our television sets. I give this TV comedy series a perfect 10 out of 10.
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