Kim’s Convenience star Simu Liu says Asian cast were creatively sidelined for ‘overwhelmingly white’ producers

Actor says that the sitcom’s characters ‘never grew’ and writers’ room lacked east Asian voices

Liu in 2018 (Getty Images for IT HOUSE x PROD)

Kim’s Convenience star Simu Liu has criticised the show’s producers for prioritising white voices over Asian actors as its final season arrives on Netflix.

First airing in 2016, the sitcom centres around a Korean-Canadian family who run a convenience store in Toronto, with Liu playing the Kim’s estranged son Jung.

The show aired for five seasons, coming to an end in Canada in April. However, Kim’s Convenience has also found international success on Netflix, with season five landing on the platform on Wednesday (2 June).

Writing about the show’s arrival on the streaming service, Liu, who will play Shang-Chi in the forthcoming Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, shared his disappointment at the show coming to an end in a lengthy Facebook post.

The Canadian actor said that he had hoped to stay on the show for a sixth season, as it had always been his “understanding” that the lead cast members would “grow to have more creative insight as the show went on”. However, he said that this was “not the case” on Kim’s Convenience.

“[This] was doubly confusing because our producers were overwhelmingly white and we were a cast of Asian Canadians who had a plethora of lived experiences to draw from and offer to writers,” Liu wrote.

“I was growing… increasingly frustrated with the way I was being treated,” he continued. “We were often told of the next seasons’ plans mere days before we were set to start shooting… there was deliberately not a lot of leeway given to us.”

The cast of Kim’s Convenience (Shawn Goldberg/Shutterstock)

Liu also claimed that the characters “never seemed to grow”, writing: “I can appreciate that the show is still a hit and is enjoyed by many people… but I remain fixated on the missed opportunities to show Asian characters with real depth and the ability to grow and evolve.”

He added: “Our writer’s room lacked both East Asian and female representation, and also lacked a pipeline to introduce diverse talents… Many of us in the cast were trained screenwriters with thoughts and ideas that only grew more seasoned with time. But those doors were never opened to us in any meaningful way.”

The Independent has contacted CBC, the show’s Canadian broadcaster, for comment.