Lena Waithe is taking her relationship with Showtime to the next level. The Emmy winner has signed a new first-look deal with the network, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. Showtime announced that it’s renewing Waithe’s Chicago-set ensemble drama, “The Chi,” for a second season back in January.
The pact sees Waithe developing and creating new comedies and drama for the network via her Hillman Grad Productions shingle.
“I have been a fan of Showtime for as long as I can remember,” said Waithe. “They make shows that most networks wouldn’t touch and they’ve never been afraid of taking risks. I look forward to introducing my Showtime family to fresh and exciting new voices. I want to make content that will challenge audiences and take them places they never thought TV could go. It’s going to be a fun ride.”
Showtime Networks programming president Gary Levine added, “We fell in love with Lena’s voice when we ordered her pilot for ‘The Chi’ three years ago, and we have watched in awe at her powerful impact on our industry and our culture. Lena is a creative force of nature and we are delighted that the force will be with us as she makes Showtime her creative home.”
Waithe won an Emmy for co-writing “Thanksgiving,” a “Master of None” episode inspired by her own coming out process. The former “Bones” scribe has a new show in development at TBS. The network ordered a pilot for “Twenties,” a comedy about a queer woman and her two straight BFFs.
“I am tired of white folks telling my stories,” the actress, writer, and producer told Vanity Fair earlier this year. “We gotta tell our shit. Can’t no one tell a black story, particularly a queer story, the way I can, because I see the God in us.” She explained that she wants to create complex, iconic black characters in the same way Zora Neal Hurston and James Baldwin did. “James Baldwin saw the God in us. Zora saw the God in us,” Waithe observed. “When I’m looking for myself, I find myself in the pages of Baldwin.”
It was recently announced that Waithe will pen “Queen & Slim,” an upcoming Universal pic directed by Melina Matsoukas (“Insecure”). Described as a “Bonnie and Clyde”-like story, the film follows a black couple who go on the run after they accidentally kill a police officer in self-defense.
“The Chi” will return for Season 2 in 2019.
