Season 3 of The Chiwon’t include series lead Jason Mitchell, who was fired in May due to accusations of inappropriate behavior.
Because of Mitchell’s quick exit, his character Brandon didn’t receive a proper ending in the show, Deadline reports. Showtime’s President of Entertainment Gary Levine told the outlet that Brandon will be killed off: “There is a lot of great life in The Chi, and there’s also death in The Chi, and that’s how we’ll be dealing with it.”
Prior to his dismissal, Mitchell was already being closely watched after an alleged inappropriate incident with co-star Tiffany Boone. The situation was addressed by putting Mitchell through training. Another incident then occurred off-set, which is what led to Mitchell being let go from The Chi, the Netflix movie Desperados, and his agency UTA.
“We were made aware at the time that the allegations were made,” said Showtime’s other President of Entertainment, Jana Winograde. “[Fox 21] conducted [a] thorough investigation. After that investigation, we all made the decision together that it was appropriate at that time to give him some training and guidance on appropriate behavior on set.”
Creator and executive producer Lena Waithe is set to have a role in Season 3 of The Chi. “I think it will be our best ever,” Levine said. “The stories remain incredibly vibrant.”
After Mitchell's exit in May, Waithe appeared on The Breakfast Club and admitted that she wished she had acted immediately after learning of Mitchell's behavior. “What I wanna do is own that I wish I would’ve handled the situation differently, and I wish I would’ve done more. What I wanna do is own my part in it.”
