Showtime Announces New Seasons For The Chi, Black Monday, Flatbush Misdemeanors To Premiere In May
SHOWTIME has announced that the fourth season of its hit drama series THE CHI (9 p.m. ET/PT), the third season of comedy BLACK MONDAY (10 p.m.) and freshman comedy series FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS (10:30 p.m.) will debut on Sunday, May 23 in a powerhouse night of programming.
Created and executive produced by Emmy® winner Lena Waithe (Twenties, Boomerang) and executive produced by Academy Award®, Emmy and Golden Globe® winner Common (Selma), THE CHI is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents on the South Side of Chicago who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. Season three was up nearly 30% in viewership over season two across platforms. Season four cast includes Jacob Latimore (Like a Boss), Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Yolonda Ross (Treme), Shamon Brown Jr., Michael V. Epps and Birgundi Baker, along with Luke James and Curtiss Cook, who have been upped to series regulars in season four. Kandi Burruss and La La Anthony are set to return as guest stars, along with Tabitha Brown (Princess of the Row) and Chicago native Jason Weaver (Smart Guy, ATL). THE CHI is currently in production on 10 episodes in Chicago. In addition to Waithe and Common, Aaron Kaplan (A Million Little Things, The Neighborhood), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone of Freedom Road Productions, Rishi Rajani, president of Hillman Grad Productions, and showrunner Justin Hillian serve as executive producers for season four. Produced entirely in its namesake city, THE CHI is produced by 20th Television.
BLACK MONDAY, starring and executive produced by Emmy nominee, and Golden Globe winner and season two Golden Globe nominee Don Cheadle, is a comedy about a motley crew of underdogs who caused the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street. BLACK MONDAY also stars two-time Tony Award nominee and Grammy® winner Andrew Rannells (Girls) and Regina Hall (Little, Girls Trip), who serve as producers, and Paul Scheer (Veep). Season two followed Dawn (Hall) and Blair (Rannells) as they took over the TBD Group, while Mo (Cheadle) and Keith (Scheer) fled to Miami. Along the way, Blair used a congressman, Dawn used a college fund honcho, Keith got used by the Leighman Brothers and Tiff (Casey Wilson) used her Georgina Jeans capital on a hot new trend – skants! At the end of season two, Dawn took the hit for Black Monday, and Mo reigned supreme as head of the newly minted The Mo Co. What lies in store for him, his band of underdogs and his enemies will all play out in the 10-episode third season. A co-production between SHOWTIME and Sony Pictures Television, BLACK MONDAY is created by showrunners and executive producers David Caspe (Happy Endings) and Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend’s Girl). Emmy nominees Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Good Boys, The Boys) executive produce.
New half-hour comedy FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS, created and written by Kevin Iso (High Fidelity) and Dan Perlman (That’s My Bus!), who both star, is a raw comedy of city life following Dan and Kevin, who play characters struggling to thrive in their new surroundings in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The show explores two long-time friends seeking to climb out of their heads and connect with others. For their work writing, directing and starring in the shorts that form the foundation of the series, Iso and Perlman won Best North American Short Film at the London Film Festival, with the first installment becoming Oscar® qualified following a Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Florida Film Festival. As with the original shorts, many of the roles will be cast with actors from Brooklyn or the Flatbush neighborhood, including Kristin Dodson (The Shivering Truth), in the role of Zayna, one of Dan’s outspoken high school students. FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS is a co-production by SHOWTIME and Avalon (Breeders, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), which will act as lead studio in adapting Iso and Perlman’s digital series of the same name. The series is executive produced by Perlman and Iso, Nastaran Dibai (Dear White People) who serves as showrunner, Justin Tipping (Twenties) who directs the pilot, and Richard Allen-Turner, Jon Thoday, David Martin and Chloe Pisello for Avalon.