SHOWTIME(R) OFFERS THE SEASON TWO PREMIERE OF THE CHI FOR EARLY SAMPLING

Watch Now For Free On SHOWTIME Streaming And TV On Demand

NEW YORK - April 4, 2019 - Starting today, the season two premiere of the hit SHOWTIME drama THE CHI is available for free sampling online, on streaming platforms and on TV on demand. Created and executive produced by Emmy(R) winner Lena Waithe (Boomerang, 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 season premiere episode is available for free now on YouTube, and SHO.com ahead of its linear debut this Sunday, April 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

The episode is also available across multiple television and streaming providers' devices, websites, applications and authenticated online services and their free On Demand channels. In addition, the season premiere is available for free on the SHOWTIME stand-alone service's website www.showtime.com.

Produced entirely in its namesake city, season two of THE CHI will spotlight the ambitious plan by Brandon (Jason Mitchell) to make his food truck a success, while navigating the class differences with his girlfriend Jerrika (Tiffany Boone). Emmett (Jacob 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 (Alex Hibbert) reckons with the trauma of what he has experienced in his young life, as he strengthens the bonds with his buddies, Papa (Shamon Brown Jr.) and Jake (Michael Epps), whose older brother Reg (Barton Fitzpatrick) exposes Jake to twisted lessons in street survival. Lastly, an imprisoned Ronnie (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) will attempt to come to terms with killing Brandon's brother and reclaim his life, while Detective Cruz (Armando 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.

SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS, and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Amazon, Apple(R), Google, LG Smart TVs, Oculus Go, Roku(R), Samsung Smart TVs and Xbox One. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Amazon's Prime Video Channels, DirecTV Now, FuboTV, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Sling TV, Sony PlayStation(TM) Vue, and YouTube TV or directly at www.showtime.com.