The CHI is a show that was created by Lena Waithe about things that occur on the Southside of Chicago. From the time I have tuned in since 2018, there has been a number of violence that occurred on the show and a number of unfortunate situations for the young people of Chicago. According to IMDB, The Chi is a timely coming-of-age drama series centered on a group of residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. — SHOWTIME. On Chicago’s south side, an average day finds kids prepping for school as their parents’ head off to work, young adults trying to make a living, and the elders keeping an eye on things from their front porches, which shows that I was not too far from the punchline. I mean it is something you cannot miss!
The casting was chosen carefully and uniquely, which is shown in their performances. The cast is as followed Jacob Latimore as Emmett (2018-2020), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine as Ronnie (2018-2020),
Alex R. Hibbert as Kevin (2018-2020), Shamon Brown as Papa, (2018-2020), Michael Epps as Jake (2018-2020), Yolonda Ross as Jada (2018-2020), Birgundi Baker as Keisha (2018-2020) , Jason Mitchell as Brandon (2018-2019), The Chi’s very own Lena Waith who appeared in 2020, Lala Anthony (2020), and more… just to give you a little taste! Curious yet?
Season 2 premiered in June 2020 and this one stood out to me. On an Instagram live chat, creator Lena Waithe said that she did not want a season with cops so the showrunner said if there are no cops then an African American female has to go missing and an African American character has to find her. This stood out because why did the bargain have to be a young female going missing in order to replace the cops? Why couldn’t a male go missing? I had so many questions pertaining to that gesture until I reread the articles and listened to the live again, Lena Waithe said “’I don’t want any cops this season. Why do police have to be in the black community narrative at all?'” and went on by saying “My amazing showrunner, Justin Hillian, basically said, ‘Well, you know how to make cops go away? Make a black girl disappear.’ So that’s what we did,” she added. “We focus on how the community comes together, leans on each other, and doesn’t necessarily need police to be in their community.” I now understand the angle the writers were coming from with this pitch.
Spoiler alert though at the beginning they thought she was dead because a female’s body was found in the branches, but it was not her. During her months of being missing her parents found out so many things about her including her promiscuity, spam accounts, hidden tattoos, and more. Because of this reputation no one took her missing seriously, they just thought she ran away with her boyfriend. This included the help group for missing parents, the police, guys on the street, and more. After three more months a male on the show found her. The kidnapping took a toll on her because prior to the kidnapping she wanted to leave Chicago to go to college, but after her kidnapping she wanted to stay in Chicago literally. She attempts suicide and isolates from her family due to this emotional experience. At the end of the season Keisha took a pregnancy test and found out she was pregnant by her rapist. Now she must decide if she will have an abortion or keep the baby.
Tune in to The CHI on SHOWTIME when it returns on Sundays at 8PM or be sure to stream it on Hulu so you can be caught up for Season 4 to see what happens next.