Comprised mostly of snippets, the first trailer for “The Chi” doesn’t reveal much about the new Showtime series’ plot. We catch a peek of various characters and scenarios, ranging from a mom catching her teen son hiding a naked girl under his bed to a police officer breaking into a house and being greeted with a pointed gun. What the atmospheric spot makes clear is that the show will be both comedic and dramatic.
Deadline’s synopsis of the series helps shed some light on what exactly we’re getting a taste of. “Kevin (Alex R. 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 complex responsibility 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.”
In one of the funniest bits from the trailer, we see Kevin walking home with two pals. “My mother says I’m not supposed to cross this block,” one of them pipes up. “How’s she going to know?” they ask. “Because Jesus is watching,” he explains to his aghast and amused friends.
Created and executive produced by “Master of None” writer and star Lena Waithe, “The Chi” premieres January 7.
Waithe made history this September when she became the first black woman to win an Emmy for comedy writing. She was honored for co-writing the “Master of None” episode “Thanksgiving,” which sees her character, Denise, slowly come out to her friends and family over the course of two decades.
