Showtime is set to debut the new dramatic series The Chi on Sunday, January 7, 2018 at 10 pm ET/PT. The new series comes from Emmy Award-winner Lena Waithe (Master of None) and is executive produced by Waithe, Oscar winner Common (Selma), Elwood Reid (The Bridge), Aaron Kaplan (Santa Clarita Diet, Divorce), Derek Dudley, Shelby Stone, and Rick Famuyiwa (Dope). Reid also serves as the first season’s showrunner and Famuyiwa directed the first episode.
The Chi stars Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton), Jacob Latimore (Sleight), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Queen of Katwe), Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Yolonda Ross (Treme, The Get Down), Armando Riesco (Bull), and Tiffany Boone (The Following). Sonja Sohn (The Wire), Jahking Guillory (Kicks), and Steven Williams (The Leftovers) are season one recurring guest stars.
The Plot: Produced entirely in its namesake city, The Chi is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. Kevin (Hibbert) is the pre-teen who must step past shattered illusions and embrace the normal rites of childhood, while Brandon (Mitchell) the dreamer makes his own nearly impossible leap of faith to succeed in life and love with girlfriend Jerrika (Boone).
Emmett (Latimore) is the carefree teen thrust into complex responsibility with guidance from his mother Jada (Ross), and Ronnie (Mwine) is the drifter whose struggle to love and be loved calls into question his every pursuit.
