Kim’s Convenience might be turned into a TV show
Before Kim’s Convenience made the jump from Fringe Festival hit to Soulpepper Theatre Company mainstay, nobody knew that the problems of a convenience-store-owning Korean family could be the stuff of compelling, popular theatrical drama. Now, after two years’ worth of successful remounts, the film industry evidently wants a piece.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, Soulpepper announced that it has entered into a partnership with Vancouver-based Thunderbird Films, a company that has produced TV shows like Package Deal and Some Assembly Required. According to a Thunderbird spokesperson, the company is in the process of scripting both film and TV adaptations of Ins Choi’s 2011 play, which takes place almost entirely inside a Regent Park mini-mart run by a gruff Korean pater familias and his wife.
It’s still unclear whether Kim’s Convenience will be picked up by a TV broadcaster. “When the play first opened, there was considerable broadcaster interest in developing the series,” the Thunderbird spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We’ll circle back now to those interested broadcasters to find the right broadcast partner for the project.” Thunderbird is considering developing other Soulpepper plays, but has no definite designs on anything other than Kim’s Convenience at this point.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/culture/kims-convenience-might-become-tv-show/&title=<em>Kim’s Convenience</em> might be turned into a TV show&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/kims-convenience-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_256191" align="alignnone" width="656"] Writer/performer Ins Choi and the rest of the cast of Soulpepper's Kim's Convenience. (Image: Cylla von Tiedemann)[/caption]
Before Kim's Convenience made the jump from Fringe Festival hit to Soulpepper Theatre Company mainstay, nobody knew that the problems of a convenience-store-owning Korean family could be the stuff of compelling, popular theatrical drama. Now, after two years' worth of successful remounts, the film industry evidently wants a piece.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, Soulpepper announced that it has entered into a partnership with Vancouver-based Thunderbird Films, a company that has produced TV shows like Package Deal and Some Assembly Required. According to a Thunderbird spokesperson, the company is in the process of scripting both film and TV adaptations of Ins Choi’s 2011 play, which takes place almost entirely inside a Regent Park mini-mart run by a gruff Korean pater familias and his wife.
It's still unclear whether Kim's Convenience will be picked up by a TV broadcaster. "When the play first opened, there was considerable broadcaster interest in developing the series," the Thunderbird spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We’ll circle back now to those interested broadcasters to find the right broadcast partner for the project." Thunderbird is considering developing other Soulpepper plays, but has no definite designs on anything other than Kim's Convenience at this point.){kind=link}