A compelling coming-of-age story, The Chi is a Showtime original that offers a honest and unvarnished depiction of life amid Chicago’s South Side.
It explores the complexity, happiness, and hardships of its people, giving viewers a close-up perspective of the real-life tales that lie beneath the city’s news headlines.
However, as the show went on, viewers were left with urgent questions about one of the show’s main characters, Brandon Johnson, and the actor who played him, Jason Mitchell.
In the third season, Brandon abruptly vanished. Why was that? What caused the plot to take this unexpected turn?
In summary, substantial misbehaviour claims were made against Jason Mitchell despite his significant position as Brandon Johnson. In the end, Mitchell’s expulsion from the series occurred in 2019. As such, the character of Brandon was abruptly killed off at the start of the third season.
The series’ audience came to love American actor Jason Mitchell’s portrayal of Brandon Johnson because he gave the character nuance and realism. However, accusations of inappropriate behaviour caused Mitchell’s once promising career to take a turn for the worse.
With Jason Mitchell’s conspicuous absence from the ensemble, the third season of the show saw a major lineup shift. After these accusations, he was fired in May 2019, which prompted the decision to kill off Brandon Johnson, his character. Gary Levine, President of Entertainment at Showtime, stated the following in relation to Mitchell’s departure:
“There is a lot of great life in The Chi, and there’s also death in The Chi, and that’s how we’ll be dealing with it.”
Nevertheless, this was not the first instance that Mitchell’s behaviour came under scrutiny. Prior to this, he was the focus of an internal probe because of worries expressed by Tiffany Boone, his co-star on The Chi.
Mitchell had to undergo rigorous training to handle this issue, but one more off-set occurrence was the tipping point. This not only cost him jobs in future movies, such as the Netflix movie Desperados, but it also caused him to leave his agency, UTA, and get fired from The Chi.
Showtime’s other President of Entertainment, Jana Winograde, clarified the situation. She emphasised the gravity of these accusations and mentioned that Showtime was informed, but not the major studio for The Chi. Following a thorough examination, everyone agreed that Mitchell should get training regarding proper behaviour while filming.In his analysis of the state of the industry as a whole,
Gary Levine emphasised the difficulties in developing young talent while maintaining a polite, safe workplace. A clear illustration of Showtime’s dedication to maintaining this balance was Mitchell’s departure.
In its third season, the show persevered despite the upheaval, with creator and executive producer Lena Waithe even taking the lead. Levine expressed optimism about the show and praised its narrative liveliness.
The Chi is still going strong after Season 6 and beyond.
Despite difficulties, the series’ appeal and relevance don’t wane. Showtime announced the return of the show in August 2022 and renewed it for a sixth season.
This dedication to the storyline of the show was reinforced when it was announced on June 21, 2023, that the upcoming sixth season would be lengthy, consisting of 16 episodes.To keep viewers interested and involved, the season has been split into two halves. On August 6, 2023, the first installment made its much awaited premiere, promising more captivating tales from Chicago’s South Side.
Source: sportskeeda.com
