The new season of the beloved Showtime Original hit series “The Chi” is around the corner. REVOLT spoke with some of the cast recently, and they shared their insight on the upcoming installment as well as their love for fans.
Almost a month ago, the trailer for the sixth season was released, stirring up excitement for all those who enjoy the TV Drama. The show, created by Emmy winner Lena Waithe, follows the lives of teens, young adults, and elders residing in the South Side of Chicago as they deal with various scenarios involving love, grief, fear, happiness, triumph, pain, and more — all while trying to avoid becoming products of their environment.
As the cast and crew gear up for the season premiere, one of the stops on their press run was the 29th ESSENCE Festival of Culture (EFOC), which celebrated Black joy, community, and heritage. Some of the stars on the series — Luke James, Jacob Latimore, Curtiss Cook and Birgundi Baker — took a moment to speak with REVOLT about hip hop’s influence on the show. They also opened up about not only their desire to touch fans but having gratitude toward them as well.
Chicago is one of the biggest hubs for mainstream and underground rap artists. That said, the talented actors explained hip hop’s influence when it came to accurately depicting the city’s culture on the small screen.
“[Hip hop] has impacted the show tremendously. Hip hop is a culture, it’s not just a genre,” James told REVOLT. “It’s a culture, it’s a way of living, it is a perspective, and I think hip hop is birthed from Black people, Black struggle, Black love and Black voices.”
“The clothes, they love shoes… They got their own swag and fashion, and we happen to bring that to the screen as well. It’s a beautiful thing. We love the Chi,” Latimore added.
With many viewers being part of the Black community, the cast was happy to have the opportunity to engage with the attendees directly at EFOC, especially since the narratives the show highlights are common in Black America. Due to “The Chi’s” very broad fan base, the main hope is that the various stories being told are not only entertaining but are relatable and can spark change.
“Being able to see somebody on a screen everywhere that may be dealing with something you’ve been dealing with, it makes it a little easier to speak to somebody about it because you have a reference point,” said Cook, whose character is a complex businessman named Douda. “I might not be able to say it verbally, but I can say, ‘This scene in such and such, that’s how I’m feeling,’ and kind of open a lane for somebody to help you further get rid of that frustration or anxiety or whatever you’ve been [feeling].”
“That’s the goal — to connect with women. I’m a representation, especially for deep-complected women. I feel that a big part of my purpose is to stand in the gap for them. We are just now seeing a lot of deep-complected women on TV and before it wasn’t like that, so that’s very important to me,” Baker, who plays the role of Kiesha, said when she chimed in to share her perspective.
In addition, the cast revealed that participating in EFOC was rewarding because their personal goal as actors, which is using their talent to be an impactful representation, was acknowledged by the people who watch their show.
“To be told that what we’re doing is working. To have them say to you, ‘What you’re presenting us, what we’re seeing, we enjoy that’ — because we do it in a bubble. We’re there [in Chicago], we do all our episodes, so we don’t know how it’s going to affect the people,” Cook explained. “We know what we think of it personally, but to walk into a space where there’s so much love, and so much energy and to have somebody say, ‘That one scene when you did this thing, ahhh, that spoke to me!’… That’s powerful and it’s very meaningful to us.”
“These are our people… The love is beyond quantifying. It’s awesome because we make this to reach people, to create more empathy in people. We hope that people see themselves or just see something and are entertained. To come here, to ESSENCE in New Orleans, it’s Black people galore. It’s beautiful to be able to touch the people and receive the flowers,” James expressed.
The new episodes are sure to take fans on an emotional rollercoaster. Three words the cast used to describe how viewers will be feeling while watching the upcoming season were “full,” “angry” and “unpredictable.”
“And this season, we’re going to see a lot more of our characters find that outlet to just be vulnerable and get those things off their shoulders,” Latimore unveiled.
“You’re going to get some anger up in there for sure,” James exclaimed.
Season six will consist of 16 episodes split into two installments of eight, according to Deadline. This means there will be a mid-season finale and the remaining episodes will air later. If you want to catch the premiere, the first episode is set to debut on Aug. 4 via Paramount Plus with Showtime.