S1:E1 Pilot

Original Air Date: Jan 7, 2018

A fateful event sends shockwaves through a community on the South Side of Chicago and connects the lives of Brandon, Ronnie, Emmett and Kevin in wholly unexpected ways. Series premiere.

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S1:E1 Promo (:30)

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Sneak Peek: Brandon's Eulogy for Coogie

S1:E1 Preview Scene (2:13)

Sneak Peek: Brandon's Eulogy for Coogie

"We start off riding through the city with Coogie (Jahking Guillory), a playful 16-year-old with a wild mane of hair, on a canary yellow bicycle with a banana seat... we see Chicago through his eyes. We’ve already seen in the news what the city is, at least on corners like this one. What it can be — the vibrant place of possibility that Coogie sees — gives The Chi its heart and its heartbreak."

READ MORE AT The New York Times

"The Chi performs an important service: It transforms the word 'Chicago' from something approaching an epithet into a three-dimensional place, a city in which a believable array of human beings live their lives and try to overcome the difficulties in their paths."

READ MORE AT Variety
Music from this episode
All We Got (Coloring Book)
Chance the Rapper
Cake (ft. Talia Stewart)
Taylor Bennett
Roof Gone (Produced by CEO Beatz)
Taylor Bennett
Dreams Makin It Big
Izzy ft. Deralph
Shotgun
R.L. Boyce
Its A Reason feat. Moe Cheez
Yung Tragic
Brother where are you?
Oscar Brown Jr.
Smoked Clean
Zion I
Let the Horns Blow (feat. Homeboy Sandman)
evitaN
Nobody Speak (feat. Run The Jewels)
DJ Shadow

6 Seasons, 58 Episodes

previous
  • Season 6

    Emmett’s new business puts stress on his relationship with Kiesha, Victor navigates his private life going public, and Kevin, Jake and Papa decide what kind of men they want to be, all while Douda extends his powerful reach over the South Side.

    Season 6
  • Season 5

    Emmett and Tiff forge a new path. Kevin finds love where he least expects it, Jake and Jemma navigate life as a couple - and Papa still knows how to get into trouble. Jada looks at life post-cancer and Trig considers a political run.

    Season 5
  • Season 4

    Jake, Papa and Kevin must confront the harsh reality of how the world views young, Black men in the aftermath of an act of police brutality. As the three friends reckon with a broken system, the aftershocks ripple across the South Side.

    Season 4
  • Season 3

    Emmett tries to alter the way his mother sees him, but Jada is on to her next chapter. Ronnie seeks to transform himself. The Williams family undergoes a seismic shift. Jake must choose between two competing guardians, and Papa finds unlikely love.

    Season 3
  • Season 2

    Brandon strives to make his food truck a success. Emmett makes an effort to get custody of his son, guided by Jada. Kevin reckons with the trauma of what he has experienced in his young life. Ronnie attempts to come to terms with killing Brandon’s brother.

    Season 2
  • Season 1

    As lives intersect, the people who call the South Side of Chicago home strive to make the right choices and overcome life’s challenges.

    Season 1
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