“The only reason I told you this shit is cuz I thought you was gonna handle it,” an unidentified voice says in the only dialogue included in the teaser for Lena Waithe’s “The Chi.” The spot’s main focus seems to be introducing the audience to the world, look, and feel of Chicago’s south side, the Showtime drama’s setting.
The teaser also provides quick glimpses of the series’ main players — Jerrika (Tiffany Boone), Jada (Yolonda Ross), Coogie (Jahking Guillory), Brandon (Jason Mitchell), Ronnie (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), Emmett (Jacob Latimore), Kevin (Alex R. Hibbert), and Cruz (Armando Riesco)— but leaves their backgrounds, roles, and connections to one another a mystery.
Created and executive produced by “Master of None” writer and star Waithe, “The Chi” is, per Showtime’s synopsis, “a powerful coming-of-age drama series about an interconnected group of working-class African-Americans who remind us that no matter what, the human spirit is strong and hope never dies.”
Waithe made history last month 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.
“I have never seen a black female character come out on television,” Waithe has said of “Thanksgiving.” “There are times you’re going about your business of being an artist, and you don’t realize that what you’re doing hasn’t been done before … So I cannot be prouder of the fact that we did do it.”
“The Chi” premieres January 7, 2018 on Showtime.
