A mother’s love
The final season of comedy series Kim’s Convenience starts with a heart-breaking mother-daughter situation.
Kim’s Convenience
Season 5 Fridays (from 9 September) SABC3 (*193) 21:00
We all know Mrs Kim aka Umma (Jean Yoon, Janis in action series Orphan Black) likes to play things close to her chest. “She’s crazy with secrets. She’s got more than the US Government, but she does it for a reason,” explains the actress. “She loves her family and being from Korea, she was raised very differently to Canadians and Americans, who are a lot more open about their lives.” But there’s one new secret in Umma’s closet that is going to eat her alive if she continues to hold it in…
HELP ME
As the new season begins, Umma gets a shocking diagnosis from her doctor: She’s got multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease of the brain and spinal cord that can be debilitating and physically disabling. “MS is an extremely prevalent condition so many people are now being diagnosed with. I’m not sure why the writers opted for something like this – maybe because it needs to be spoken about more. But it was scary to read in the script because I didn’t know what was going to happen to my character,” explains Jean. In true Umma style, she puts up a wall after getting the phone call with her diagnosis, but it’s not going to be something she can keep boxed up.
DAUGHTER S.O.S.
If there’s one person in the family who’ll understand Umma, it’s her only daughter Janet (Andrea Bang, Claudia in drama series A Million Little Things). “They’ve had their ups and downs over the years, but Umma believes that Janet will be able to help her out of everyone in her life,” says Jean. But saying and doing are two different things and the more Umma tries to confide in Janet, the more she realises that it’s difficult for her to not only reveal something as personal as a medical diagnosis, it’s harder to hear yourself saying “I’m unwell and need help”.
Watching them back and forth as Umma tries to utter those words and the miscommunication is hilarious, says Jean, and important for viewers to see. “Often it’s children who’re unable to tell their parents things because they’re worried of the fallout. Now it’s the opposite and it’s Umma’s chance to feel vulnerable. It’s something she’s never had to do before because she was raised to be strong and not question anything – to do as she’s told. But now she’s going to have to dig deep and tell Janet that she needs help. It’s going to bond them more than anything ever before,” adds Jean.