Showtime has renewed “The Chi” for a second season, when Ayanna Floyd Davis will take over as its new showrunner.
“The Chi” is a coming-of-age story centering on a group of Chicago’s South Side residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption, per its official description. Kevin (Alex Hibbert) is the pre-teen who must step past shattered illusions and embrace the normal rites of childhood, while Brandon (Jason Mitchell) the dreamer makes his own nearly impossible leap of faith to succeed in life and love with girlfriend Jerrika (Tiffany Boone).
Emmett (Jacob Latimore) is the carefree teen thrust into the complex responsibility of fatherhood with guidance from his mother Jada (Yolonda Ross), and Ronnie (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) is the drifter whose struggle to love and be loved calls into question his every pursuit.
“The Chi” has grown its audience each week since debuting on January 7.
“From viewers and critics alike, the response to ‘The Chi’ has been so enthusiastic from the very start that our decision to renew the series was an easy one,” Showtime Programming boss Gary Levine said. “We love the vibrant characters and the nuanced world that Lena [Waithe] has created. Her vision for ‘The Chi’ has clearly struck a chord, and we know she has many more moving, personal and resonant stories to tell about her beloved hometown.”
Lena Waithe, Common, Elwood Reid and Aaron Kaplan are executive producers on Season 1. Rick Famuyiwa, who directed the pilot episode, also earned an executive producer credit — as did Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone of Freedom Road Productions.
Produced by Fox 21 Television Studios, “The Chi” will go back into production in Chicago later this year.
“The Chi” airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on Showtime.