Kim's Convenience follows the lives of the Kims, a Korean-Canadian family who run a convenience store in Toronto. Hence, 'Kim's Convenience"... Geddit?
Looking for a new comedy series to watch, we stumbled upon Kim's Convenience a few weeks back and having finished it earlier this week, we don't know what to do with ourselves.
In a TV age filled with serious dramas and villainous characters, sometimes it's nice to just kick back with a silly show based on the everyday lives of a silly family and that's exactly what Kim's Convenience gives you.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee stars as store owner and family patriarch Sang-Il Kim, who maintains a loving (and at times heated) relationship with his wife Yong-Mi Kim (Jean Yoon). He also generally gets on quite well with his daughter, photography student Janet, despite the fact they disagree on almost everything.
His son Jung is a different matter though, with the two having fallen out years before we meet the family, and the development of their relationship is one of the hooks that keeps us watching. Jung works at car rental service Handy, alongside his best pal Kimchee and a motley crew co-workers (special mention to Terence, AKA T-Bag), who throw brilliant one-liners at the audience in nearly every scene.
There's a "will they, won't they" connection between Jung and his well-meaning boss Shannon, who delivers some of the best lines throughout the series (See clip below but watch out for spoilers).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k438FgnlQhE
The real golden couple of Kim's Convenience though are Sang-Il and Yong-Mi (Appa and Umma, Korean for Dad and Mam). Appa is almost like a real-life Homer Simpson, with his sturdy frame and thinning hair and the similarities aren't limited to their physical appearance.
The store owner often speaks without thinking, a trait which regularly gets him into trouble with those around him, including his wife and daughter. The secondary embarrassment comes thick as the main cast navigate family life as immigrants in one of Canada's biggest cities.
Kim's Convenience is created by Korean-Canadian Ins Choi and a lot of the storylines are based on his own experiences. Four seasons are available on Netflix now, with a fifth to follow in due course. If you feel like the laughs are slow in the beginning, trust us, it's worth sticking with. Good, clean fun to get you through a few weeks of TV.
READ NEXT: Six Netflix shows to binge if you loved Schitt's Creek
