Is The Chi renewed for season 3, canceled? Premiere date hopes
Let’s kick things off here by discussing the main news at hand. You are going to see more of The Chi coming up at some point presumably next year (though that is not confirmed). Showtime renewed the series earlier this year, with Gary Levine, President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks, saying the following in a statement:
“The Chi revels in revealing the beating heart of the South Side of Chicago … We, like our viewers, have fallen in love with these characters, and we remain eager to see where Lena and her fellow artists will take them in Season 3.”
Now, here’s where things get a little bit more unfortunate. Since the show was initially renewed, there has been a lot of controversy and headlines regarding cast member Jason Mitchell’s actions, in particular, allegations of misconduct and treatment of other performers on set. Mitchell has been fired from the show, and he will not be returning for the upcoming season.
Does that mean the series will recast the Brandon character? We would assume that anything is possible, but the more likely scenario is that they just find a way to continue the story without him. Can’t some other characters take a little bit more of the spotlight and the show could still shine?
Meanwhile, we don’t know much how much you really choose to even mention Brandon on the other side of this. It’s a difficult situation, because you don’t want to judge the character the same as the actor who ended up playing him, but at the same time, they’re often viewed as the same to some viewers. Mentioning Brandon is a reminder of what happened. (We should note that Tiffany Boone, who played Jerrika, will also reportedly not return after complaining of his behavior.)
As for a start date…
Because the writing team for The Chi may have to figure some of this story stuff out in the months to come, we wouldn’t be surprised if there is a longer wait than usual for more new episodes. Typically, we would assume that season 3 would premiere at some point a year after season 2 (i.e. next spring), but it could be next summer or the fall depending on how long for the producers take to work all of this sort of stuff out. It’s obviously a difficult situation, and our hope is really that the cast and crew can find a sense of unity with one another. Hopefully, they can collectively move forward to work through some of the problems that were previously there. The show still has a lot of potential and offers up a different side of living in Chicago than even what we see on another Showtime series in Shameless.
What do you want to see on The Chi season 3 when it premieres on Showtime? Be sure to share right now in the comments. (Photo: Showtime.)