Hamilton setting for ‘Kim’s Convenience’ spinoff

The east end building is the home of gohotwater Inc., but it will soon gain fame as the site of the new CBC sitcom Strays."

Owner Mike Preston is already prepared to have fans come knocking on his door, even though the commercial heating and air conditioning business may not be done up as its alter ego in Strays" as the Hamilton East Animal Shelter.

Strays" is a spinoff from the recently cancelled Kim's Convenience" and will follow the adventures of Shannon Ross (Nicole Power), the enthusiastic car-rental agency manager, as she embarks on a new career in Hamilton.

I was very excited to be approached," said Preston. I've done my best to help and to help the shooting be a success."

The building at Ottawa Street North and Dalhousie Avenue, just south of Dofasco, was an abandoned shell for more than a decade when Preston renovated it and moved his business from Toronto into it at the start of 2020. Not long after, he was approached about seeing his business become the anchor for Strays."

He learned he was selected from 20 buildings the producers looked at and also learned its closeness to the steel plant was a big factor. Filming got delayed until January of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the show just wrapped up filming 10 episodes on April 1. This included filming at the former Westinghouse office building on Sanford Avenue North and the Polish Alliance Building at Barton Street East and Rosslyn Avenue North. Indoor shots were done in a Toronto studio.

Preston said the building was painted a bright yellow, and then dulled down on purpose by the show. The sign will be removed and then replaced when the show returns to film again.

Preston has signed a deal to make the building available for the shooting of 13 episodes over a year. He said the producers expect the show, which will premiere this fall, to be a hit and he understands it has been picked up by Netflix.

Preston said the building has already attracted attention.

I know it's going to be a big deal," said Preston, who is also excited because he has family members in the film industry. We've already had people knocking on the door wanting to get shots for their dogs."

Strays" has been in development since 2018 and was meant to run as a companion to Kim's Convenience." It was created by Kevin White, co-creator of Kim's Convenience."

Location manager Sari Miettienen said a year was spent researching Hamilton for the show, which will deal with Ross saving the animal shelter from closing.

She said viewers shouldn't look for sites like Dundurn Castle. We want to show the urban grittiness of Hamilton," she said.

For future filming, they are looking at filming in a plant and a brewery.

They dressed up the front of the Polish Alliance Building to look like a strip club, but not just any strip club. They called it Donnatella's Strip N' Bowl, complete with bowling pins and images of exotic dancers. Miettinen said they only filmed one day at the site but the facade caught the attention of many.

I got so many calls," said Stan Iwanicki, who operates the building.

I told people I closed the halls and had opened up the Strip N' Bowl, but it didn't work out so well so I went back to the halls."

Aiden Osland thought it was pretty funny when he saw the sign. He believed, however, if that was a real business, it would soar."

Shannon Curlett also thought it was funny. It was something strange," she said.

Antonio Caligiuri and Joel Batchelor drove over from their homes to see the sign when they read about it on Twitter. They knew it was a film shoot but also joked that the idea might have merit.

Listen, this is one of the best things I have heard about in my life," laughed Caligiuri.

Producers of Kim's Convenience" announced its end in March after five seasons. Its final episode will be April 13 on the CBC. The show, focusing on a Korean-Canadian family and their store in downtown Toronto, had gained international fandom thanks to being carried by Netflix.

The show is ending because cocreators Ins Choi and White wanted to move on to new projects. Kim's Convenience" was based on the award-winning 2011 play by Choi. White had worked on such other series as Corner Gas."

Given their departure from the series, we have come to the difficult conclusion that we cannot deliver another season of the same heart and quality that has made the show special," the CBC said in a statement.

The cast of Strays" also includes Frank Cox-O'Connell, Tina Jang, Nikki Douvall, Kevin Vidal, Tony Nappa, Paula Boudreau and Emily Piggford.

Daniel Nolan is a freelance writer who writes about film for The Hamilton Spectator. He can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com