Simu Liu voices disappointment on abrupt ending of ‘Kim’s Convenience,’ ‘overwhelmingly white’ producers

Simu Liu has voiced his disappointment on the abrupt cancellation of the family sitcom “Kim’s Convenience” as its last season premieres.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Wednesday, the Chinese-Canadian cast member said the show was not “cancelled” in a traditional manner because the producers “chose not to continue.”

“Kim’s Convenience” follows the story of a Korean-Canadian family who runs a convenience store in Toronto.

According to a Deadline report, the show will have a spin-off series featuring Shannon Ross, the character played by Nicole Powers.

Simu said it’s “difficult” for him and he was “resentful of all of the circumstances that led to the one non-Asian character getting her own show.”

He added that if asked, he would “adamantly refuse to reprise my role in any capacity.”

As the series went on, the actor said he grew “increasingly frustrated” with how he was treated.

He said unlike other shows where the cast got to collaborate with the producers on the story, that was not the case for “Kim’s Convenience.”

“[It] 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,” said Simu.

“Our writer’s room lacked both East Asian and female representation, and also lacked a pipeline to introduce diverse talents,” he added.

He also mentioned the show’s former co-creator, show runner Ins Choi, who he referred to as the only Korean voice in the set of writers and producers.

“Personally, I do not think he did enough to be a champion for those voices. When he left, he left no protege [nor] Korean talent that could’ve replaced him,” he said.

The actor said the cast tried to fill Choi’s place but they were never given the chance to do so.

“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.”

On how roles were shown, meanwhile, he said he was disappointed that they had “missed opportunities to show Asian characters with real depth and ability to grow and evolve.”

Simu will play the lead in Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” With this, he dismissed some people’s views that he was “suddenly too ‘Hollywood’ for Canadian TV.”

“This could not be further from the truth. I love this show and everything it stood for. I saw firsthand how profoundly it impacted families and brought people together.”

Toward the end of his post, he gave credit to the day-to-day show crew, whom he described as “phenomenal.” “Everyone contributed to a positive work environment.” – Franchesca Viernes/RC, GMA News