The Chi.....The Culture
“The Chi” is the new hottest series to hit the television network SHOWTIME. It first premiered on January 7th, 2018 and we haven’t been able to keep our eyes off of it since! Written by EMMY winner Lena Waithe, and executively produced by famous hip hop artist, poet, and Academy Award winner Common; it stars the talented Singer/Actor Jacob Latimore who you may know from his hit single “Like Em All”, his album “Connection”, or his leading roles in movies such as: “Black Nativity”, “Collateral Beauty” and “Detroit”. The show also stars, Jason Mitchell, best known for his role as Eazy-E in the biopic movie “Straight Outta Compton.”. “The Chi” is a coming-of-age drama series focused on a group of residents, who don’t seem to know it yet, but surely soon will recognize that their lives begin to link together by not just a coincidence.
Based on the Southside of Chicago, the show focuses on the life of Chicago residents. It deals with issues such as: peer pressure, single parenthood (young and old), death, issues with the law, abuse, and more. This series touches base with things many can relate to. As the series progresses it consists of constant and common everyday struggles that people endure. Though, in their case, certain simple decisions can cause terrible consequences.
The series begins with the murder of a young boy whose body is found by high school athlete, Coogie (Jahking Guillory), whom police initially assume is the murderer. However, they aren't the only ones. Tracey, the mother of the deceased boy, demands her boyfriend Ronnie (Ntare Mwinel) figure out who killed their son; causing the latter to mistakenly take the life of Coogie. This crime is witnessed by 12 year-old Kevin (Alex R. Hibbert), who not only is dealing with problems within his own life, but now has to deal with Ronnie who is after him after witnessing his murder. On the other side, Coogie’s older brother, Brandon (Mitchell), is deeply affected by the news of his brother’s murder as his hopes were to save his family from the neighborhood. He soon becomes vengeful himself, struggling to find his brother's killer. Finally, there is 19 year old womanizer and shoe lover, Emmett (Latimore). He struggles with growing up and moving on from the “mama’s boy” phase while also adjusting to fatherhood himself. He finds out that he has a child on the way along with speculations of having two others; all while dating, the sister of 12-year old Kevin, Keisha. Emmett now has to grow up and “be a man”, as his single mother Jada (Yolonda Ross) is forcing him to do so as issues began to rise in her life. And this is only the beginning!
Though they have not yet, they will soon come to find that their lives and journeys will
become intertwined. With the series only being 8 episodes in, it will surely captivate your attention for the entire hour that is is on. It’s so intriguing, you’d wish there were no commercial breaks at all! Despite, the drama that is has, it is the perfect series mixed with rage, love, ambivalence and more! Where there are disasters there is beauty, even if it’s only temporary! Being victims of their circumstance will only last so long, as they all wish to better themselves with both change and redemption! Hopefully, we didn’t spoil too much for you! The series hasn’t ended yet, so go check the re runs if you haven’t seen it! The series also got picked up for Season Two, so you don’t want to be the only one missing out on the hottest show of 2018! You can catch “The Chi” every Sunday at 9 p.m. on SHOWTIME. So, put your phone down, grab your favorite snacks and don’t forget to tune in as we are always in for a special and spontaneous treat!
