SHOWTIME SETS SEASON TWO PREMIERE DATE FOR "THE CHI" ON SUNDAY APRIL 7 AT 10 PM ET/PT

Created And Executive Produced By Emmy(R) Winner Lena Waithe, Series Builds Off Breakout Freshman Season -

Releases New Poster and Trailer

LOS ANGELES - January 31, 2019 - The highly anticipated second season of the hit SHOWTIME drama THE CHI will premiere on Sunday, April 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Created and executive produced by Emmy winner Lena Waithe (Master of None) and executive produced by Academy Award(R), Emmy and Golden Globe(R) winner Common (Selma), THE CHI is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. The ensemble cast includes Jason Mitchell (Mudbound, Straight Outta Compton), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Queen of Katwe), Jacob Latimore (Sleight), Alex Hibbert (Moonlight) Yolonda Ross (Treme), Tiffany Boone (The Following), Armando Riesco (Bull), Barton Fitzpatrick, Shamon Brown Jr., and Michael V. Epps. THE CHI averaged 4.5 million weekly viewers across platforms and ranks as the highest-rated SHOWTIME freshman series since BILLIONS in 2016. The announcement was made by Gary Levine, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc., at the Television Critics Association's Winter Press Tour. To watch and share the trailer for the second season of THE CHI, go to:

Produced entirely in its namesake city, season two of THE CHI will spotlight the ambitious plan by Brandon (Mitchell) to make his food truck a success, while navigating the class differences with his girlfriend Jerrika (Boone). Emmett (Latimore) will encounter a lot of bumps and bruises as he makes an effort to grow up and get custody of his son, guided by his mother Jada (Yolonda Ross), who is discovering a new life of her own. Kevin (Hibbert) reckons with the trauma of what he has experienced in his young life, as he strengthens the bonds with his buddies, Papa (Brown Jr.) and Jake (Epps), whose older brother Reg (Fitzpatrick) exposes Jake to twisted lessons in street survival. Lastly, an imprisoned Ronnie (Mwine) will attempt to come to terms with killing Brandon's brother and reclaim his life, while Detective Cruz (Riesco) launches a new investigation. The season will also show the joys of living life on the Southside of Chicago. Guest stars include Carl Lumbly, Curtiss Cook, Crystal Dickinson and Kimberly Hebert Gregory.

Ayanna Floyd Davis (Empire, Hannibal) serves as executive producer and showrunner for season two. In addition to Waithe, Common and Floyd Davis, Aaron Kaplan (Santa Clarita Diet, Divorce) also serves as an executive producer, along with Rick Famuyiwa (Dope),and Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone of Freedom Road Productions. THE CHI is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios. To learn more about THE CHI, visit SHO.com and follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Join the conversation using #TheChi.

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