Kim’s Convenience hits the road ahead of Season 2
What do you do if your new Canadian sitcom strikes gold its first season, becoming the No. 1-rated domestic comedy on any channel?
If you’re the CBC, and that show is the critically acclaimed Kim’s Convenience, you double down and showcase the Season 2 launch with a cross-country promotional tour and fan experience.
The series, which returns Sept. 26, is visiting Vancouver on Tuesday before heading to Calgary (Sept. 21), Ottawa (Sept. 26), Montreal (Oct. 1) and St. John’s (Oct. 3).
“It’s almost like an old-school rock ’n’ roll tour,” says Paul SunHyung Lee, who plays poker-faced convenience store owner Mr. Kim, a.k.a. Appa. Lee is thrilled to be participating in a Canadian television promotion that will not only “pump the show, but pump the actors.”
“In Canada, we don’t do the big star system,” he said while wrapping production on the new season last week in Toronto. “To have this opportunity to promote the hell out of the series and the actors is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Set in downtown Toronto, Kim’s Convenience focuses on the lives of a Korean-Canadian family who own a corner store. Lee is especially proud that all Canadians have embraced the show, “not just the Korean community. It has become a show that has transcended culture.”
The tour will allow fans to get up close and personal with Lee, plus cast members Jean Yoon (Mrs. Kim, or Umma), Simu Liu (estranged son Jung), Andrea Bang (daughter Janet), Andrew Phung (Jung’s pal Kimchee) and Nicole Power (Handy Car Rental manager Shannon).
Born in South Korea and raised in Calgary, Lee, 45, has spent more than half his life as an actor.
“My career, if you look at my resumé, has been a plethora of day-player bits,” he said.
In the past, he’s been one of those actors you’ve seen but can’t name, with credits on everything from Train 48 to Degrassi. Appa was his first shot at a series lead and he aced it, winning the Canadian Screen Award as best actor in a continuous leading role.
Yoon was also recognized for her work on the series, winning an ACTRA Award and beating out the likes of Catherine O’Hara and Tatiana Maslany in the process. “Humbled is the word,” Yoon said.
She’s also thrilled to be taking the show on the road. “It’s exhilarating,” she said. “We’re all really proud of the work we’ve done this season. The stories, they’re more adventurous and the comedy is zinging right.”
Other cast members returning to their hometown include Bang (who lives in Vancouver), Power (from Newfoundland and Labrador) and Phung, who, like Lee, is from Calgary.
An improv player since he was 16, Phung is thrilled to be emceeing the live promotional events.
“We want the audience to walk away not that they went to a screening, but that they had an experience,” said Phung.
Former CTV boss and executive producer Ivan Fecan sees the cross-country tour as a way to take the series past the big urban centres. With strong critical reviews as well as an average minute audience at close to 900,000 viewers — as well as a lift from summer reruns and Air Canada viewing — Fecan says the time is right to take the show directly to the fans.