Kimchi & Tuna: The Series

"The most decent show you'll ever watch."

- Show tagline

Kimchi & Tuna: The Series, sometimes also known as just Kimchi & Tuna, is a Canadian-American adult animated sitcom created by Michelle Kim and Zach Gray for Comedy Central in the United States and CTV Comedy Channel in Canada. Based on the webtoon series of the same name, the series follows the characters Michelle and Zach, who are played by themselves, on average life activities.

Originally pitched to Fox, Kimchi & Tuna: The Series aired on Comedy Central in November 2022 to mixed reviews, who praised the animation, but criticizing its plots.

Premise
The show focuses on the two characters named Michelle (herself) and Zach (himself) during their everyday lives in Toronto, Canada. More often, they also have misadventures one after another.

Production
Originally known as Kimchi & Tuna: The Animated Series, Kim and Gray initially pitched the show to Fox as part of the Animation Domination block, with Bento Box Entertainment and 20th Television Animation set to produce the show, but Fox never picked it up, and the show was later cancelled before the pilot's release. However, Comedy Central later acquired the rights to the show.

The series was announced to be back in production in November 2021 with MTV Entertainment Studios set to produce the show with Toon Boom Harmony. To promote the show, the official YouTube channel released a series of sketches online. It was also announced that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg would executive produce the series through their Point Grey Pictures banner, along with Shawn Levy through his 21 Laps Entertainment banner.

In early 2022, it was later announced by Kim's Twitter account that the series was simply renamed to Kimchi & Tuna: The Series. On June 1, 2022, it was announced that a second season for the show has been ordered by Comedy Central, with an estimated release of May 2023.

According to Kim, it was revealed that the pilot of the show was finished long before the cancellation of the original series, and wants to share it with the public. However, she does not have the rights to release it, and Paramount is keeping the pilot in their archives. Despite that, a short snippet of the pilot in behind-the-scenes footage was released online.

Episodes
Main article: List of Kimchi & Tuna: The Series episodes

Release
Kimchi & Tuna: The Series premiered on Comedy Central on November 3, 2022, with 1.58 million viewers.

In February 2023, it was announced that FX had acquired the broadcast syndication rights to air Kimchi & Tuna: The Series. They plan to air the show five times a week as part of their schedule, starting June 2023. The same year, Freeform later acquired the second broadcast syndication rights to the show, which started reruns in November.

Home media
Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment released the full first season of Kimchi & Tuna: The Series on DVD and Blu-Ray. Both formats contain audio commentary and uncensored versions of the episodes. It is also available to download on iTunes and stream on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.

Reception
The first season received mixed reviews from critics, receiving a 60 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews", while Rotten Tomatoes showed an approval rating of 61% based on 18 critics, with an average rating of 5.83/10. Season two received positive reviews from critics, with an approval rating of 87% based on 27 critics, with an average rating of 7.50/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic read a rating of 78 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Possible film
On February 6th, 2023, it was revealed by Kim on a podcast that she is considering adapting the show into a full-length feature film. She also said that she already has an idea for one should a film be made.

Rating
Kimchi & Tuna: The Series received a TV-14-L rating due to language that may not be appropriate to anyone under the age of 14, while the 2-part season one finale received a TV-14-LV rating.