It's hard not to compare this show to Kim's Convenience and given the abrupt, unexpected and rather strange way the latter ended, leaving fans frustrated and upset, many may be unfairly harsher in their reviews of Strays. I was a huge fan of Kim's but I will try to stay objective in reviewing. To be honest, I was actually looking forward to watching it, as I always found Shannon very funny and the trailers were promising so I was quite disappointed with the first episode. Shannon is still funny but her new environment and cast mates just not as interesting. They come across as slightly boring stereotypes from old office sitcoms instead of a believable group of people working at the same place. The cousin character, probably the worst of the bunch, is the cardboard-cutout slacker cliché and is mostly annoying rather than funny. And the Asian character being good with numbers and computers...really!?
What made Shannon a great character in Kim's convenience was her trying to be the nice, accessible and (cheesily) funny boss at a place where there is a clear hierarchy between manager and staff. That aspect is so far missing from the new show which dulls out a key part of her character.
It's too early to form a definite opinion of the show and I'm willing to give it a chance and watch the rest of the season but I would rate the first two episodes as average to below average.
