Simu Liu has revealed his honest frustrations regarding the cancellation of Kim's Convenience and the behind-the-scenes struggles that led to it. Co-created by Ins Choi and Kevin White based on Choi's play of the same name, the series centered on the titular Korean Canadian family and their Toronto convenience store and the lives of the various family members. The ensemble cast for the series includes Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jean Yoon, Andrea Bang, Simu Liu, Andrew Phung, and Nicole Power.
After two successful seasons airing on Canada's CBC Television, the sitcom gained international popularity upon its debut on Netflix in 2018 and has garnered a solid following in the years since. Despite initially being renewed through season 6, which was originally planned to conclude the series, it was revealed earlier this year that the newly-released season 5 would be the end for the comedy. Though initially interested in reprising his role as Jung for future seasons, Liu's new revelations paint a different picture of the series.
On the heels of its fifth and final season debuting on Netflix, Liu took to Facebook to share his disappointment in the premature conclusion of the hit sitcom. The 32-year-old star also used the post to reveal some of the behind-the-scenes problems that resulted in the cancellation of the series and his decisions to move on from the property. Liu wrote that "[the] writer's room lacked both East Asian and female representation, and also lacked a pipeline to introduce diverse talents" and the cast "had to become the de facto mouthpieces for the show ([the] showrunners were EPICALLY reclusive), working tirelessly to promote it while never truly feeling like we had a seat at its table." See what Liu had to say in full below:
Liu's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Shang-Chi for this year's eponymous film may seem like a good trade to some for the actor, but it's hard to deny feeling sympathy for his frustrations regarding the series. Given the star's drive for better representation both in front of and behind the scenes, to hear him describe the lack of it on the series is all the more disappointing since he and the rest of the team won't be able to take steps to address this in future seasons. Plus, with his desire for fans to get a proper ending to the sitcom, the premature cancellation is sure to disappoint viewers as season 5 is now on Netflix.
That being said, one of his more valid criticisms regarding the whole situation is the fact that production is currently underway on a spin-off centered on the only non-Asian lead in the series. With Kim's Convenience having a large international fan base, Strays should still be a hit, but unfortunately Liu will not return to his breakout role. Instead, fans can at least look forward to seeing him make his MCU debut when Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hits theaters in September.
Source: Simu Liu
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