Kim’s Convenience Season 6: Will It Happen?

Has Appa said “OK, see you!” for the last time, or is there hope of a renewal for beloved family sitcom Kim’s Convenience? Here’s what’s currently known about the show’s cancellation, and about the possibility of Kim’s Convenience season 6.

Kim’s Convenience debuted on CBC Television in 2016 and centres on a Toronto convenience store run by the Kim family: Sang-Il “Appa” Kim (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Yong-mi “Umma” Kim (Jean Yoon), their daughter Janet (Andrea Bang) and their son Jung (Simu Liu), who is estranged from the family at the start of the series. Over five seasons Kim’s Convenience found heart and humor in the dynamics of its titular Korean-Canadian family and the friends and neighbors who drop by the store.

The final episode of Kim’s Convenience season 5 aired on April 13, 2021, barely a month after news broke that the show had been cancelled and its fifth season would be its last. With other sitcoms like One Day At A Time and Brooklyn Nine-Nine being saved after cancellation, could Kim’s Convenience get a similar reprieve? Here’s what we know.

Kim’s Convenience Season 6 Renewal

While shows are often cancelled due to flagging ratings or network politics, the decision to cancel Kim’s Convenience was made by the producers due to the departure of co-creators Ins Choi and Kevin White, who are now moving on to other projects. Without Choi and White, the producers stated, “we have come to the difficult conclusion that we cannot deliver another season of the same heart and quality that has made the show so special.”

According to Kim’s Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, both CBC and the cast of the show were keen to make season 6 happen. Speaking to the Calgary Herald, Lee said, “We got the cast together, chatted about it and decided we were going to go for it.” However, attempts to convince Choi to return fell flat when, according to Lee, the co-creator of the series “ghosted” him:

“I’m very hurt by that, to be honest. I mean, I was there almost right from the beginning when he was developing the play. I did the workshops for the play. He wrote the role of Appa with my voice in mind. We’ve been through a lot together with this whole journey.”

Kim’s Convenience began as a stage play written by and starring Ins Choi, and is based on his own family and life growing up in Toronto. The semi-autobiographical nature of the show means that replacing Choi as a co-creator isn’t as simple as getting another Korean showrunner on board, and the decision was instead made to end with season 5 rather than attempting to continue without Choi.

What Simu Liu Has Said About Kim’s Convenience Season 6

Liu first spoke out about the cancellation of Kim’s Convenience in March 2021, after the news broke. In a statement posted to Twitter he said he was “heartbroken” and that he’d been “fully expecting to come back for our sixth season.” Not only had he wanted the chance to properly wrap up Jung’s story arc, he also wanted to participate in writing the series and to direct an episode.

A month later, ahead of the Kim’s Convenience season 5 finale airing, Liu took to Twitter again to say that he was “still pretty f**king angry” and “you all deserved a proper ending.” He also alluded to “tea and receipts” that he’s keeping to himself (for now) with regards to the cancellation. Liu’s upcoming lead role in Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will undoubtedly bring in a new binge-watching audience for Kim’s Convenience, but that may not help its chances of a renewal if its cancellation was driven by a creative departure rather than ratings.

Kim’s Convenience Season 6 Story: What’s Left To Say?

Kim’s Convenience season 5 ends on a low-key note. Shannon and Kimchee all have dinner with the Kims at their home, and after bidding their guests goodnight Mr and Mrs. Kim turn around the “CLOSED” sign, turn off the lights in the store, and head up to bed. The finale definitely has a sense of finality to it, but there is also still potentially a lot of story left to be told.

For Liu, the biggest storyline that was left unresolved was Jung’s relationship with Appa, which has undergone a long and difficult journey towards healing. After getting in trouble with the police as a teenager and being sentenced to a stay juvenile detention, Jung left his family home and did not step foot in Kim’s Convenience or speak to his father for many years, though he covertly maintained a connection with Umma and Janet. By the end of season 5, Jung and Appa have forged a tentative peace, and it’s even suggested that Jung could take over the store when Mr. and Mrs. Kim retire. Jung decides against this, but it’s unclear exactly what he wants to do instead. As Liu put it:

“It pains me that we will never see the full reconciliation between Jung and Appa. It pains me that we will never see Jung figure out what he wants to do with this life. Most of all, it pains me that we will never see the Kims all together as a family, bidding farewell to the bodega that has defined their immigrant journey.”

Kim’s Convenience Spin-Off Release Date & Story

Though Kim’s Convenience may have ended, CBC is making a Kim’s Convenience spin-off called Strays. The show will be set in Hamilton and centred on Shannon (Nicole Power), who broke up with Jung in the season 5 finale and stated her intention to leave Handy Cars and branch out somewhere new. While there was some backlash to the only non-Korean main character in Kim’s Convenience being the character to get a spin-off, Strays will at least leave open the possibility of guest appearances by other cast members. Strays is currently filming and will premiere in CBC’s 2021-2022 broadcast season.

About The Author

Hannah Shaw-Williams
(3313 Articles Published)

See also  Tiger King’s Jeff Lowe Banned From Exhibiting Animals For Life

Hannah has been with Screen Rant since 2013, covering news, features, movie premieres, Comic-Con and more! You can follow her on Twitter @HSW3K

More From Hannah Shaw-Williams