Kim’s Convenience’s Paul Sun-Hyung Lee joins Murdoch Mysteries

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee brings his talent to Murdoch Mysteries as Inspector Albert Choi in the show’s new season

The eighteenth season of CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries is currently in production. The popular, long-running TV show is about to add a new cast member from another popular show in this country.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Lt. William Murdoch is about to cross paths with … Appa?

Hmm. I think this will require a bit more information.

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who played Kim Sang-il (or “Appa”) on Kim’s Convenience when it ran on CBC from 2016-2021, will be joining Murdoch Mysteries this fall. He’ll be playing the character of Inspector Albert Choi, who will be working alongside Murdoch (played by Yannick Bisson) at Toronto’s Station House No. 4.

Lee, who has portrayed Uncle Iroh on Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and Captain Carson Teva on Disney+’s The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, is an interesting choice for this new role. “It’s a lot of fun stepping back in time,” he said in a CBC teaser clip, “and I don’t think I’ve ever done a period piece like this before.” He also noted “when I was on Kim’s Convenience, a lot of Kimbits were Murdochians as well. So, it is an institution unto itself in this country.”

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, right, famous for his role as “Appa” on Kim’s Convenience, joins Yannick Bisson on Murdoch Mysteries in the show’s new season. Image courtesy CBC

More from Michael Taube

Murdoch Mysteries – then and now

The hidden conservatism of Murdoch Mysteries

The mystery of Doctor Who

His observations of the Murdoch Mysteries set are also worth highlighting.

“It’s like, kind of going to the Universal backlot, or the Paramount backlot, or Warner Brothers or any of these big-scale Hollywood type … because they don’t exist, this kind of environment doesn’t really exist as much anymore, right?” Lee said. “It’s a show that remains innovative, that is family-friendly as well, and a little bit on the edge. And it’s one of those shows that, you know, although it is a procedural, it does sort of keep you on your toes in terms of trying to figure out whodunnit, as it were. And yeah, that’s a recipe for success.”

The impending Murdoch-Choi dynamic on the show is unclear. Interactions with other regular cast members like Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy), Chief Constable Thomas Brackenreid (Thomas Craig), City Coroner Violet Hart (Shanice Banton), Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) and Constable Henry Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch) remain a Murdoch-like mystery, too.

Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to this new character.

I’ve had a near-annual tradition of writing about Murdoch Mysteries. The origins come from British-Canadian author Maureen Jennings’s popular Detective Murdoch series, including Except the Dying, Poor Tim Is Cold and A Journeyman to Grief. That said, Jennings’s titular character was inspired by Canadian police officer John Wilson Murray, who was appointed Ontario’s first government detective in 1875.

The fictional Murdoch was born in late 19th century Eastern Canada. He came from a strict Roman Catholic family, and held those traditions and values close to his heart in the then-predominantly Protestant city of Toronto. A polymath with a photographic memory and top-flight forensic skills, he worked for the Toronto Constabulary at Station House No. 4. Some of the techniques he used to solve cases, including fingerprinting, blood testing, surveillance and trace evidence, existed at that time, but were still in their infancy.

Murdoch Mysteries started as three made-for-TV movies that appeared on the Canadian version of the U.S. TV channel Bravo (now CTV Drama Channel) between 2004 and 2005. The current TV series ran for five seasons on Citytv between 2008 and 2012. It was picked up by CBC in January 2013 and has been there ever since. The show has also appeared in the U.S. and various international markets, including the UK, France, Brazil, Greece, Australia, Finland, and China.

Viewers can stream episodes of Murdoch Mysteries on Acorn TV and CBC Gem. RLJ Entertainment, through its parent company AMC Networks, has distributed the series on DVD and Blu-ray for years. (My thanks to Alexandra Quilici for providing screeners.)

The most recent collection I’ve watched is Season 16. There’s a new Halloween special (“I Still Know What You Did Last Autumn”), characterizations of famous historical figures (Rudyard Kipling; Lucy Maud Montgomery; Edith Wharton, William Harley and Arthur Davidson), and guest appearances by astronaut Chris Hadfield and Olympic champion Andre De Grasse. And the 250th episode, “D.O.A.,” was filmed in black and white.

Like the previous 15 seasons and the most recent, Season 17, this season continues the trend of memorable storylines and character development. The stellar writing and acting and its regular nods to local, national and international history define the series. Murdoch Mysteries also films in smaller Ontario cities and towns, such as beautiful downtown Thorold in the Niagara region. Eleven scenes were shot in Thorold for an upcoming episode, which received an additional makeover from the TV crew.

Alas, I wouldn’t count on seeing a convenience store in the near future. Unless Appa somehow convinces Murdoch that Old Toronto needs some modern touches!

Michael Taube is a political commentator, Troy Media syndicated columnist and former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.

For interview requests, click here.

The opinions expressed by our columnists and contributors are theirs alone and do not inherently or expressly reflect the views of our publication.

© Troy Media
Troy Media is an editorial content provider to media outlets and its own hosted community news outlets across Canada.