Lena Waithe has announced the release date for the eighth and final season of The Chi. She shared the news with a video teasing what’s to come.
The clip features flashback moments of characters like Tiffany, Victor and Jake, blending scenes from earlier seasons with that of season 8. “Life comes at you fast whether you’re ready for it or not,” says a voice-over. “Everything has to come to an end.”
According to the official logline, season 8 will see The Chi enter its “coldest winter ever,” where “life or death choices must be made.” It adds, “The question becomes, who is willing to make them? Legacy, conflict, joy, and pain. It all collides in the biggest, most emotionally riveting way ever seen this season.”
The series, which premiered in 2018, stars Jacob Latimore, Birgundi Baker, Luke James, Shamon Brown Jr., Michael V. Epps, Hannaha Hall and Jason Weaver. It centers on a group of residents from Chicago’s South Side whose lives become linked through coincidences, tragedy, and a desire for community and redemption.
Lena previously told Deadline that creating the show was “about owning our narratives and telling our stories with truth, care, nuance and complexity. It was about showing the soul of the South Side — the beauty, the pain, the grit, and the magic that lives in every block, and in every family.”
She said the decision to wrap things up came “after much reflection.”
“I know, for the sake of our story and our characters, it’s the right thing,” she told Deadline. “I am committed to delivering a final season that our Chi Family deserves.”
Season 8 of The Chi will premiere May 22 on Paramount+ with the Premium Plan.
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