Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Chi’ Season 6 on Showtime, The Return Of The Ensemble Drama About The Disparate Personalities In A South Side Neighborhood

The Chi returns to Showtime for its sixth season, which will feature 16 episodes split into two halves. Filmed on location in Chicago and focusing on an interconnected group of people living their everyday lives on the city’s south side, the series has grown and changed with its characters – after all, it’s been a minute; it premiered in 2018 – to the point that their relationships to one another are often in flux as the sixth season begins. Created by Lena Waithe, who is also a co-writer of the series, the ensemble cast of The Chi includes Alex Hibbert, Jacob Latimore, Tyla Abercrumbie, Luke James, Birgundi Baker, Iman Shumpert, and Michael Epps.   

THE CHI – SEASON 6: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Shot: “I’m not going to be the only parent in this house.” For Emmett (Lattimore) and Kiesha (Baker), cohabitating as a couple is a work in progress. How they make time for one another, how they parent, and most of all how they communicate – it’s all on the table, not to mention their respective careers, which are accelerating.

The Gist: There’s no doubt that Emmett’s business is taking off – it’s the morning of his big grand opening celebration for Smokey’s BBQ. But while Kiesha’s happy for him and happy with their life together, she’s also focused on landing a teaching job at a local kindergarten. For Kiesha’s younger brother Kevin (Hibbert), he’s proud to have carried through with his promise to his mother Nina (Abercrumbie) and her partner Dre (Miriam A. Hyman) – he really did move out of their home. Standing in his very first “on his own” apartment, he kind of can’t believe it. And for Trig (James), whose campaign for city council is moving right along, being on the cusp of an important new life chapter is making him question his own capabilities. Is he really built for this, after all of the adversity of his past? And if he wins the election, can he really do the job? 

Whether they’re just starting out, newly established as a couple, or making changes later in their lives – Darnell (Rolando Boyce), for example, is loving his new life as a married man – each of the individuals we meet in The Chi are seeking a version of the same thing. They want to make something of themselves and find solace in community, whether that manifests in the neighborhood at large, within their established friend groups, or even as intimately as a couple’s relationship, as they lay next to one another in bed. And inside each of those options are plenty of chances for friction and conflict. 

Just ask Emmett. Kevin isn’t the only one who followed through on a promise – Emmett ended up agreeing to the season five offer from Otis “Douda” Perry (Curtiss Cook) to financially support his small business goals, and now that support is flowing to the tune of fancy new threads, Mercedes-Benz leases, and promises of more where all of that came from. But as much as he is a generous benefactor, Douda is also a crime boss. And Kiesha makes it clear to Emmett that she doesn’t fully trust his motives. (Tai Davis’s Tracy is also dwelling on whether she can stay single and free of Douda’s advances.) And as the elevated rattles on the tracks that crisscross town, The Chi wraps even more threads into its story, like the new relationships and the evolving faith journey of Kevin’s best friend Papa (Shamon Brown, Jr.), and Fatima (L’lerrét Jazelle), who is considering how her identity as a trans woman could affect her boyfriend Trig’s political campaign.         

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? With the unfortunate cancellation of South Side, which focused more on its sitcom format but was at its heart dedicated to the ideals of community, and notwithstanding the setting of The Bear, which is kind of in its own lane anyway, The Chi is the current title holder as the small screen’s most Chicago-specific series. 

Our Take: “Why do people think that women can only be happy in romantic relationships? What about friendships? This is my community. I love y’all. Friendships matter.” Tracy’s conversation with Nina, Dre, and their pals in the first episode of The Chi’s sixth season is a wonderful example of the candor the series regularly and wonderfully brings out in its quieter moments. “We die alone, anyway,” she continues. “Is it better to die holding some man’s hand?” It’s telling enough as an honest conversation among friends. But it’s also another example of how community as an overarching concept is always evolving in The Chi. The series has a lot of narratives to fit in, and even if that creates a time crunch – sometimes scenes can feel too brief, leaving us wanting more –  The Chi remains adept at weaving them all together. In that, it’s like its own community, and it doesn’t lose sight of the tenets we all rely on. In Kevin and his group of 17, 18, and 19-year-old friends, who are just starting out; in Trig, whose burgeoning political career is is forcing him out of his comfort zone in a very public way; and in Kiesha, who is able to assert herself in a new teaching position in part because of what her community taught her at a young age. Beyond the romantic relationships on The Chi, which each have their own interesting dynamic, it’s the skill with which it ties them all together that becomes its greatest strength.

Sex and Skin: Throughout the premiere episode of The Chi season six, we witness the evolving and very different sex lives of its numerous couples. Like when your ex buys you a brand new car, and there’s only one real way to christen it. 

Parting Shot: Emmett is grateful for Douda’s generosity, and sort of in a haze about it at the same time. He chooses to ignore some of the warning signs in favor of a focus on goal fulfillment. But an impromptu late-night meeting helps clear that fog when it takes a sudden, harsh, and violent turn. 

Sleeper Star: With such a large and consistently strong cast, there are a lot of representative moments spread throughout episodes of The Chi. But in the early going of season six, Birgundi Baker is a real standout as Kiesha Williams.

Most Pilot-y Line: “Douda investing in me is the best thing that ever happened to us. Everything he promised is coming true.” If that line also strikes you as just too good to actually be true, then you can understand why Emmett’s lopsided financial partnership with Douda is giving major “trouble brewing” energy.

Our Call: STREAM IT. In its sixth season, The Chi has a lot of life history to examine with its characters as individuals, as couples, and as members of a larger community that no matter what happens will always offer them a version of home. 

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges