Showtime is bringing back Lena Waithe’s coming-of-age drama The Chi for a fifth season.
The premium cable network made the announcement after the Season 4 finale aired Sunday night. Waithe, who is creator and executive producer, also shared the renewal news on her Instagram Live after-show.
“Season 5 of The Chi is coming. It is done. It is written,” she said. “You’ve been going with us. The Chi has been a journey. We’ve learned a lot. We’ve grown a lot. And these characters have grown with us. We’ve yelled at them. We’ve done silly things with them. We’ve watched them go from babies to young men and young ladies.”
Waithe posted a video on Instagram Monday, along with the caption: “Season 5. Thank you for being on this ride with us!”
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The series, which is filmed in the Windy City, tells the story of residents from Chicago’s South Side who are all connected by coincidence and bonded by the need for connection.
Season 4 focused on the effects of community policing after Epps’ character Jake faced the aftermath of a run-in with a group of Chicago officers.
The season averaged 4.2 million weekly viewers, according to Showtime.
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The Chi stars Michael V. Epps, alongside Jacob Latimore, Birgundi Baker, Alex Hibbert, Shamon Brown Jr., Curtiss Cook, and Luke James.
The hit series premiered in 2018. In addition to Waithe, Common is also an executive producer. Justin Hillian is showrunner. Producers include Aaron Kaplan, Rick Famuyiwa, Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone of ID8 Multimedia, Rishi Rajani, president of Hillman Grad Productions. .
Showtime says season 5 will premiere next year.
