Showtime Head Addresses ‘The Chi’ and ‘SMILF’ Controversies

Between SMILF and The Chi‘s allegations of inappropriate behavior, it’s been a difficult time for Showtime’s newer series. But the network is working on it. At the Television Critics Association’s 2019 summer tour Showtime’s Co-Presidents of Entertainment Gary Levine and Jana Winograde spoke about when they learned about the allegations against Jason Mitchell and Frankie Shaw, why they chose the course of action they did, and the unexpected challenges of investing in newer showrunners.

“We were made aware at the time that the allegations were made,” Winograde said about Jason Mitchell. In April of 2019 reports surfaced that Mitchell was making inappropriate comments on the set of the Netflix film Desperados. This behavior was also reported by Mitchell’s The Chi co-star Tiffany Boone. Once these reports emerged Mitchell was issued network-mandated training.

“The lead studio is Fox. But even when we’re not the main studio we tend to be involved and made aware of all the allegations,” Winograde said. “They conducted a thorough investigation. And after that investigation we all made a decision together that it was appropriate at that time to give him some training and some guidance on some appropriate behavior on set.” After the actor’s behavior continued, Mitchell was fired from The Chi. It was announced that his character Brandon Johnson will be killed off in Season 3.

Following that line of questioning, the network heads were also asked what they learned from the controversy around SMILF. Actress Samara Weaving raised concerns to her co-star Rosie O’Donnell after she was asked to perform a nude sex scene. According to Weaving, she was made uncomfortable on set by series creator and star Frankie Shaw’s behavior. Shortly after the allegations were made, SMILF was cancelled.

“There’s a learning curve,” Levine said. “We could play it safe and go with the tried and true but then you’re never going to get the new voices. And we’re so proud of the new voices we’re cultivating. We’re all figuring this out as an industry and trying to put the right support mechanisms in with more experienced people above, next to them, below, as needed. And it’s also these are delicate situations. We’re dealing with young, talented people’s careers. So we take the allegations really seriously, we investigate them deliberately and vote on them confidentially, and then we take decisive action.”

Watch The Chi on Showtime

Watch SMILF on Showtime