When it was announced that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was intended to be the 25th film in the MCU, so many fans were excited. Not only was it a story not explored before, but it was a chance to showcase Asian characters within the universe. With the criticisms of representation in movies, including within the MCU, this is a very welcome change. The actor announced to play the title character, Simu Liu, may have been seen as an unknown to many MCU fans. However, many Canadians recognized him from one of the country's best recent comedies and the excitement is real.
Simu Liu was born in China but immigrated to Canada when he was five. He was raised in the Toronto area and went on to become an accountant before pursuing a career in acting. His first film role is actually as an extra in Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim, but his first acting credit goes to the show Nikita where he played Hong Kong Police Constable. After a few small roles in various television series, he got his big break as Jung in the CBC Television series Kim's Convenience.
The sitcom revolves around a Korean Canadian family who runs a convenience store in Toronto. It's based on Ins Choi's highly acclaimed play of the same name, which debuted in the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival and went on to play across Canada in 2013. The film adaptation debuted on CBC in 2016 and is the first Canadian series to feature all Asian actors as its leads. It was a pretty big hit, holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and ran for five seasons before being canceled this year. The decision to cancel actually has held a lot of controversy, with Simu Liu even speaking out publicly.
Part of why Kim's Convenience was such a local hit, and something that made it special, were its ties to real life. The show is based on a real-life convenience store in Toronto, and it's open to this day. Though it was called Mimi Variety in real life, the show used Kim's Convenience signage on the store for external shots and Mimi Variety stuck with it. The storefront has become a pretty popular tourist attraction within Toronto, it's very easy to find and get to. The store also recently went on sale, as the owner of 40 years decided to retire.
Besides the fun local ties, the show was just very relatable to everyone. It's also just very funny. The humor was a little outrageous and screwball, but it was also very grounded in real life. There were so many angles people could take, to relate to this show. Whether it was the angle of being an immigrant, being from Toronto, having Korean heritage, or having a tight-knit family like the one portrayed, there was something for everyone. All of the characters are lovable but have flaws. The family dynamic and the things they go through together can seem very wild, but they are also rooted in reality. These are the kinds of sitcoms that seem to be appealing as of late because they make the public feel very seen and like they're not alone in their problems. Combining that with humor, these shows also can make people feel comforted and cozy and hopeful.
The show often gets compared to another CBC sitcom that gained a lot of popularity at the same time Kim's Convenience was airing: the very heavily awarded Schitt's Creek. Though their plots are wildly different, their humor and heart and themes are kind of comparable. They're both very comfy, and they're both heavily centered around family. Some have suggested that the very rapid and intense success of Schitt's Creek impeded the lack of massive success and eventual canceling of Kim's Convenience, but that's highly unlikely for a few big reasons.
The two shows did have a similar rise in popularity, as they were both introduced to a global audience via Netflix. However, Kim's Convenience was actually removed from the platform in many places before its fourth season which meant that fans in many places didn't really get to experience the last two seasons. The other thing is, Kim's Convenience was not actually cancelled due to low ratings. CBC had renewed the show for a sixth season, but the show's creator actually ended up deciding to leave. It seems pretty sad and pretty messy, as some of this cast had been involved in the original 2011 play so there was a lot of history there, and there's certainly some bad blood involved.
When it was first announced that the show wouldn't be continuing, fans were devastated. And so were the people involved. It was speculated at one point that this was due to Simu Liu moving onto the big Hollywood Marvel superhero life and wanting to leave the show behind. The details of course revealed that this was not the case, and Liu has actually been one of the most outspoken on social media about how much hurt was involved in this canceling. It's such a shame, because of how beautiful and soothing this show is. For people who have yet to see it, try to ignore the canceling and the drama because it's still worth the watch if it's available. Because of its nature, it's a perfect watch for the current world climate and also a great way to fall in love with Simu Liu before he hits the big screens this year as Shang-Chi.