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‘The Chi’ star Birgundi Baker on how shocking story arc changed her life
‘The Chi’ ramps up the drama in Season 3
“The Chi” continues its riveting storytelling in Season 3 — in spite of (or maybe due to?) the off-camera troubles that have plagued this Showtime series. The ensemble drama, created by Lena Waithe and set in Chicago’s South Side, has had three showrunners since its 2018 premiere. Co-star Jason Mitchell, who played Brandon, was fired …
“The Chi” continues its riveting storytelling in Season 3 — in spite of (or maybe due to?) the off-camera troubles that have plagued this Showtime series.
The ensemble drama, created by Lena Waithe and set in Chicago’s South Side, has had three showrunners since its 2018 premiere. Co-star Jason Mitchell, who played Brandon, was fired last year after sexual misconduct allegations brought by showrunner Ayanna Floyd Davis and by Tiffany Boone — who played Mitchell’s on-screen girlfriend, Jerrika. She left the series on her own volition. “The weight of what I was leaving behind felt like a ton, but the weight of my responsibility to speak up was even heavier,” she wrote on Instagram.
All this upheaval, however, has not affected the show’s narrative drive; if anything, “The Chi” seems more focused this season.
The main storyline, thus far, has been the disappearance of Kiesha (Birgundi Baker), Kevin’s (Alex Hibbert) older sister who vanished from a bus stop and hasn’t been seen since — leaving behind a shattered cellphone, some strewn-about clothing and her distraught mother Nina (Tyla Abercrumbie) and new stepmother Dre (Miriam A. Hyman). That looming gray cloud continues to hover but some questions regarding Kiesha’s disappearance will be answered in Sunday’s episode, “Terror Town,” airing at 9 p.m.
Against this backdrop life goes on in what’s been a season of discovery for the denizens of “The Chi.” Best friends Kevin, Papa (Shamon Brown) and Jake (Michael Epps) are experiencing big changes — Kevin and Papa with girlfriends Jemma (Judae’a Brown) and Maisha (Genesis Denise Hale) and Jake with Otis Perry (Curtiss Cook), the mobster/businessman running for mayor against Camille Hallaway (Waithe). Jake has reconnected with his older brother, Trig (Luke James), who wants Jake to come and live with him and his girlfriend, Imani (Jasmine Davis). You just know there’s a lot more to that narrative thread.
Emmett (Jacob Latimore), meanwhile, has taken strides to grow up and be a better partner to Tiffany (Hannaha Hall) and father to their baby while teaming with local chef Dom (La La Anthony) to start a business — surreptitiously using his daytime job at Sonny’s Chicken Pit as the partners’ late-night headquarters. Ronnie (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) has had his shares of ups and (mostly) downs; his ongoing search for personal redemption finds him hellbent on finding and rescuing Kiesha.
What I’ve enjoyed the most this season is the show’s propensity to surprise at nearly every turn, never an easy task for a veteran drama series. Newcomers Anthony and Kandi Burruss (as Perry’s estranged wife, Roselyn, who suddenly turns up) have blended seamlessly into the show’s fabric, and the “The Chi” writers have done a solid job keeping the main characters fresh as Season 3 approaches its 10-episode midpoint.
I can’t wait to see what happens next.
