Paramount+ with Showtime is giving Chicago’s South Side even more room to breathe: The Chi has officially been renewed for an eighth season. The news follows a record-breaking debut for Season 7, which drew two million cross-platform viewers in its first seven days, making it the most-streamed premiere in the series’ history—up 2% from last season, according to Showtime.
We talked about this a while back—before Season 7 even dropped, Showtime had already commissioned a Season 8 writers’ room in February, showing strong confidence in the series’ future. And it’s clear why: Season 6 was the show’s most-watched on streaming to date. With the Season 8 renewal, The Chi now ties Dexter, Homeland, and Weeds as the second-longest-running series in Showtime’s history, trailing only Shameless’ 11-season run.
Created by Lena Waithe, The Chi follows residents on the South Side of Chicago whose lives intersect as they search for connection, redemption, and community. Season 7, which is still rolling out with new episodes every Friday on Paramount+ with Showtime, sees Alicia (Lynn Whitfield) stepping into a leadership role and the women of The Chi rising up to reclaim their power—though it’s clear there’s only one crown, and it comes at a heavy cost.
Alongside series regulars Jacob Latimore, Yolonda Ross, Michael V. Epps, Shamon Brown Jr., Birgundi Baker, and Luke James, this season brings some fresh faces to the block. Kyla Pratt, Reagan Gomez, Punkie Johnson, and Tammy Townsend have all joined in guest-starring roles, alongside previously announced newcomers Phylicia Rashad, Wendy Raquel Robinson, and Karrueche Tran.
Waithe executive produces under her Hillman Grad banner, with co-showrunners Justin Hillian and Jewel Coronel, Common, Aaron Kaplan (Kapital Entertainment), Rick Famuyiwa, Resheida Brady-Anderson, Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone (ID8 Multimedia), Naomi Funabashi (Hillman Grad), and Hillman Grad CEO Rishi Rajani. Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield also serve as supervising producers and directed multiple episodes this season.