Quiet as kept, fans of Lena Waithe's Showtime series The Chi have been patiently waiting for the second season to bless their TV screens. Waithe and company brought some Chitown flavor to ComplexCon 2018, and we got word back in January that Season 2 was set to premiere on April 7. It's been quiet ever since then, but today, ahead of a special television premiere of this behind-the-scenes footage, we have the exclusive on this new featurette, which mixes interviews with the principle players on The Chi with brand-new looks at what Season 2 has to offer.
Series star Alex Hibbert says The Chi is about "the beautiful south side of Chicago." Waithe highlights that it's "the story of what it is to be black on the south side of Chicago." As many share thoughts on the virality of the series, we start to really get into how we get "deeper into the characters" for Season 2. After a murder turns into a shooting, the three central figures from Season 1 have grown and are still dealing with the ramifications of their actions. Jason Mitchell notes how the second season shows their worlds colliding, which we can see in the form of the police snapping pictures of parties involved in the more criminal side of their neighborhood.
It's also dope to see that a main theme for Season 2 is fatherhood. Be it Jacob Lattimore's character Emmett having to deal with seeing child support take a hit out of his paycheck or what can happen when there is no father in the home, it takes a hard look at the innocence that's lost as young boys become men in cities like the south side of Chicago. "It's about humanizing everyone," Lena says.
Check out the full featurette up above, and be sure to check out the trailer for Season 2 of The Chi as well as a synopsis for this season below.
Produced entirely in its namesake city, season two of THE CHI will spotlight the ambitious plan by Brandon (Mitchell) to make his food truck a success, while navigating the class differences with his girlfriend Jerrika (Boone). Emmett (Latimore) will encounter a lot of bumps and bruises as he makes an effort to grow up and get custody of his son, guided by his mother Jada (Yolonda Ross), who is discovering a new life of her own. Kevin (Hibbert) reckons with the trauma of what he has experienced in his young life, as he strengthens the bonds with his buddies, Papa (Brown Jr.) and Jake (Epps), whose older brother Reg (Fitzpatrick) exposes Jake to twisted lessons in street survival. Lastly, an imprisoned Ronnie (Mwine) will attempt to come to terms with killing Brandon’s brother and reclaim his life, while Detective Cruz (Riesco) launches a new investigation. The season will also show the joys of living life on the Southside of Chicago. Guest stars include Carl Lumbly, Curtiss Cook, Crystal Dickinson and Kimberly Hebert Gregory.
