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PANEL: Stars of the hit SHOWTIME drama series THE CHI tease what you can expect from the highly anticipated new season and fans’ favorite characters.
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00:00Hey y'all, how y'all doing? Y'all feel good? Thank you so much for coming out. It's so
00:17exciting to be here to see this sneak preview of season six. How many have been watching since
00:21season one? I don't believe you. No, I'm joking. They have really created a family for us. I'm
00:27so excited to see what we have in store. And to help me tease this, I have so many phenomenal
00:31members of the cast here with me today. So can you give me some help in welcoming out on stage
00:36Mr. Luke James. Miss Yolanda Ross. Miss Yolanda Ross. Mr. Jacob Lattimore. Miss Burgundy Baker.
00:56Mr. and Mr. Curtis Cook. Don't they look good? Come on, give me some more.
01:07All right, all right, all right. Y'all do good. What's up, y'all? What's up, love?
01:12Wow. I love you. Love you too. Love you. I love you too. I know you didn't say it to me. I love you too.
01:18And I think the love is so real. Just speaking as a fan of the show, before anyone asks me to be a
01:25part of this or do this, you guys really cultivate a space where we can see different sides of our
01:31family and different family members and all like loved in a really honorable way. So thank you guys
01:35for that. That work is really important. Thank you. Thank y'all for watching. And yeah, we're just
01:39grateful, right? Just grateful. For sure, for sure. What does it feel like to be starring in a hit
01:46series for six straight seasons? Great. Absolutely amazing. A dream come true. Yeah. Yeah. We, I think
01:53just looking back on that first season, we just, we were just coming to work and just wanted to do
01:59great, you know? And then that love we got that first season, we was like, man, we got something
02:03special. And just to see the history of all of our characters and how, how, how we've grown as
02:10actors and our camaraderie together as a family off screen. Um, you know, it's, it's a true stamp
02:15on the culture. So we, we really appreciate y'all for tuning in. We got 16 episodes this year because
02:20of y'all. Yeah. Yeah. You started off with like eight, then it with a 10 and now 16. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:26Yeah. I mean, that's, that's because of y'all. Y'all watching, y'all supporting. It's our
02:31stories, by us, for us. Thank you. Thank you.
02:36I like that.
02:37Shout out.
02:38Let's get into it. Let's get into it. So I guess we'll just go on down the line here.
02:43Luke, Victor has had such an arc. He's really delving and diving into politics. He's made
02:48this decision to transition into the leadership role. I think we all saw him have very early
02:53on. And he's even transitioning from that nickname trick to his given name, Victor. And why is
02:58all this meaningful for him? Why did he even run for office?
03:00Well, you know, this is, um, I believe Victor has always been on a journey to finding himself
03:06and what's his place in this world, how he identifies, how he loves, um, how he operates
03:13and then coming into, to, to raising his youngest brother. Um, I think it's more in front of him
03:21of, of, of what he has to accomplish as, as far as being an example to his youngest brother.
03:26Right. And that's the seed. That's where it started for him. That's the spark, um, in a sense is North
03:30Star. Um, and I think he's just trying, I think this season you will see him really trying to,
03:38to fill those shoes that at, at, at some point, obviously you can, you saw that he wasn't quite
03:43ready for, but he's taking it on because he has to, right? So yeah, you get to watch him go through
03:48the journeys as, as you've watched all of us go through the journey. So I'm excited to see,
03:52see what y'all think of it. Yeah. And I think he's doing well in terms of setting an example. I think
03:57the relationship between Victor and Fatima also sets an amazing example. I love that representation
04:02there. It really works to destigmatize trans love stories that are just love stories and also
04:09men who are trans amorous. And I wonder what type of feedback have you gotten from the LGBTQ community?
04:16Oh, buku love. Yeah. Yeah. I'm really appreciative. Yeah. You can clap for that. Love is love. Yeah.
04:24Yeah. You know, um, I believe, you know, if people are happy, people are not harming themselves in any
04:30kind of way, you know, and it's for the betterment of them, then we should be happy for them. And I think
04:36that's a, it's an amazing opportunity on this show to be able to, uh, portray such, uh, dynamics of
04:42people, um, of us black people, you know, um, cause that, you know, a lot of those conversations are
04:48hard for us to, to, uh, come forth with within our own families and our own communities. So it's also,
04:54it's beautiful. Uh, shout out to Lena for including these stories, you know, I'm grateful. It's been a lot
05:03of love. It's been a lot of love and, uh, I'm learning, I'm learning so much more. My heart is
05:08full and, and open, and I'm hoping that it translates to everyone else. Absolutely.
05:15For sure. I think Lena and the writer's room are very intentional about telling all kinds of love
05:20stories, not just between different types of lovers, but different types of people. And I think
05:25one of the most fun and interesting relationships has been that between you guys as characters,
05:30you guys finally came back together and have this really beautiful blend of family. And
05:37I personally just saw so much growth personally through your character, Burgundy, as well as
05:42yours, Jacob. I think you guys are modeling what young and responsible love can look like
05:49and also maturing together and open communication. And literally I've never seen tumultuous relationships
05:58portrayed in such a healthy way. So what does it mean for you guys to embody those roles?
06:02Thank you. It's, it's everything. I mean, being on a show for six seasons, that's what you want to
06:07hear that you see the growth. Yeah. I don't want anybody to ever look at my work and say, oh, that's the
06:11same. You know, we're talking about a real life girl. So there's going to be a lot of changes and
06:15there's going to be a lot of growth. And thank you for seeing that. For sure. We appreciate it. Um,
06:21yeah, every season I feel like I'm learning more and more, um, just about myself, about relationships
06:28and, um, and just challenging myself to, to dive into the, to, to these new story arcs. Um, and shout
06:35out to Lena for that. We, we come, we come to these new seasons every year, just learning and getting
06:40better. You know, um, every time me and Burg do a scene, it's just like, we, we, we, they'll say cut
06:45and we's like, yeah, that was, that was, that was it. Sometimes I be, sometimes I be like,
06:49Burg be like, nah, you sure we, you sure we got it? I said, Burg, I'm telling you, I'm telling
06:54you, it's it. But, uh, it's, um, that's, that's the beautiful thing. We, our chemistry,
06:58I, I know how my, my cast may sound in my ear when I'm rehearsing my lines at home. Like
07:03I already know I can just hear them, you know? So it's, uh, that's the chemistry we've, we've
07:07built together. Also, we knew they was going to get back together. Like, like, we saw the
07:13little stair seat outside the apartment. We was like, y'all, y'all, y'all going to get
07:17back together. But I love it, I love it. Speaking of coming back together, somebody finally got
07:22married. Oh, oh, oh, ow. Yeah. Y'all come to the wedding. Jada and Darnell finally got
07:31married. She married now! And we love that for her. Question, did she get him to take out
07:38the Bluetooth this season or no? That's a sore spot. Okay. All right. And what has,
07:50I think it's so important to show different generations of love. And I think you and Darnell's
07:55character obviously have such rich history together. We would love to know how Jacob feels
08:00about his mom and dad getting back together, but his TV mom and dad getting back together.
08:05But what does it mean for you to portray that love story? You know what? It was so, you
08:10know, cause we don't know what's going to happen at the end of a season. So we're just going
08:14along with it, rolling with it. And then when I read that, we get married? You know, it's
08:20like, Rolando, did you know we get married? It was, it was, I was excited. I was excited
08:26for her. Yeah. Because I feel like I know nothing but single black women. That's it. No joke.
08:35And we got it all. We got the looks. We, we snatched. Everything. We got jobs. We got good
08:41taste. You know, we smart. Woo. And it's like, why are we alone? Why? That part. Somebody.
08:52Somebody. Yeah. So I'm glad he grew up, you know, and you know, you don't know how things
08:58are going to go, but I'm so glad that they got to this place because I also feel at this
09:04point in her life, she's not taking no shit. So, you know, you got to come with it because
09:13I feel like at a certain age, you know what you can and cannot deal with. And you, you,
09:19she's used to being alone, you know, not that that's a great thing, but it's like better
09:24than taking something that's not good for you. She's not willing to settle. No settling.
09:29That's it. No settling. Absolutely. We're not doing that. No settling.
09:34And last season, we saw your character give him a very hard time about being serious about
09:38his mama, you know? And so do you think that now there's going to be room for the relationship
09:42between father and son to grow in a positive way? Absolutely. And we're going, we're going
09:46to see the challenges they have facing this season because there was a, there was a part
09:52of Emmett's life where his dad wasn't there and it, you know, his father wants to come
09:57back into his life and say certain things and, and be a father, but it's challenged because,
10:03you know, he feels like he's had to do a lot on his own. So we'll see that, that conflict
10:08happen a little bit this season, which I'm really excited for people to see. And it gets
10:12deeper and deeper and deeper. But at the same time, the relationship gets a lot closer season
10:17six and six and, um, it's y'all going to be, y'all going to be on the edge of y'all seat
10:21with this one. If y'all been watching from season one all the way to now.
10:26Can I hear that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
10:30Thank you. Thank you. I know that's right. Well, you guys' love story does not cause all
10:35the drama on this show. We do indeed have a villain. So get him. Get, get, get, yeah,
10:45yeah. Yeah. Baddest man on TV right now. So Curtis first, do people walk up to you on
10:51the street calling you dude? Not want to fight. Don't play with him. Uh, do they, they, they
10:58tentatively walk up to me slowly. Yes. It's the kind of gauge where I am because I'm not dude.
11:04I'm a very nice guy. Everybody actually, I'm just, um, that was Otis. Right. That was
11:12Otis Perry. And that's, and that's one of the things I really like about this character
11:16and being an actor, you know what I mean? It's playing somebody who was so far away from
11:20yourself. You know, my daughter once said, my oldest daughter said to me, she's like
11:23people walking around acting like, um, you're not due to dad. Like you're so nice or whatever.
11:27What they don't know is that you are due to this nice person that you playing around is
11:32that's, that's, I don't know who that is, but you know, my daughter lies. But what I
11:37will say, no, but, uh, the character himself, he does cause a lot of drama on the show, but
11:44like anything, you gotta have the bitter with the sweet, right? Um, and if they're, and I
11:48think, honestly, I think this guy has a good heart underneath all of that. I think there's
11:52something honest and pure about what he's trying to do for the city. He just, sometimes
11:57he just, you know, like, I don't know. Interesting. Uh-oh, uh-oh. Uh-oh. I'm, it's so interesting
12:03that you said that because I was going to ask you, do you think there are any redeeming
12:07qualities about the character? Is there any reasons people should be rooting?
12:11I think he really loves that city. I don't know if he knows how to do it basically the
12:15right way. Like, when he defunded the police that season, right? Yeah. That was good for
12:19the city because the police were messing up. They were not doing their job. Um, and then
12:24that helped start the ROC program, right? And it helped start Victor and his campaign
12:27to start into community service. I think sometimes talking, which is good, always, most of the
12:34time, sometimes you have to stop talking and just do the work. You know what I mean?
12:38And shut it down. And that gives somebody else who may not be louder or loud enough to step
12:43into that space because now it's quiet. And there needs to be that big ball, that big bull
12:48to come in and be like, no, we're not doing that. And then what are we doing? Hey, I got
12:52an idea. I have an idea. Unless other people speak, I think. So a necessary evil. A necessary
12:57evil. Okay. For sure. You're going to keep saying evil over there. I ain't. I'm just saying.
13:02I ain't saying. You're a little evil. So guys, I'm so unloving.
13:08I'm so in love. I'm so in love with the cast. I kept getting told that this is some of the
13:12most pleasant people that you could ever work with. And I definitely feel that you guys are
13:15such bright spirits. Thank you for the stories that you're telling. And I've asked a lot
13:19of questions, but definitely please take the floor if there's something that you think
13:22the audience should be prepared for this season.
13:25Thank you for the stories that you're telling.
13:27Oh, thank you.
13:27Like, you really, you know what I mean? You feel me?
13:31Funny story.
13:32She, she's really like that. And we really appreciate this connection right here for sure.
13:37Thank you. Um, I do want you to answer the question, but I think I'm trying to share just
13:42a little fun story. So Lena is actually one of the first people to share one of my posts.
13:46I have a show called Parking Life Pimping. If you don't know, you can look at it.
13:48Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and she's been so supportive. And you also see that in the DNA of the show,
13:54being intentional about wearing black owned brands and just highlighting burgeoning new talent.
13:59And, um, I was watching the show myself and I watched with captions because I'm getting old
14:05and I can't see it here sometimes. Anyways, and Lena came up across the screen. I was like,
14:10huh? And it was spelled like my name. And I was like, oh, that's cute, but like a coincidence.
14:15And then her gamer tag came on the screen and it was my very first ad when Lena started sharing
14:19my videos. And so I tagged her in a story and I said, I know that who I think it is. And she said,
14:25yes, it is. And so her and the writer's room brought me to the family and I really,
14:29fun and unique way. And I see that so often. So thank you as well. Yeah.
14:34Lena is awesome about celebrating us. She's really about celebrating us, including us. And yeah,
14:41yeah, definitely. It's everything is intentional on our show for sure.
14:45All right.
14:46Even when it's not, she want to tell us something.
14:48Um, I mean, just, it's, we, you know, we've been through so much and it's, um, it's just how,
14:54we just so happy to, to be able to, to get so much done before the strike happened as well. Like we,
14:59um, we're, we're, we're, we're excited. We're, we're excited to, uh, be able to, you know,
15:05put something out there. Uh, we got, we got a good amount of work done, you know,
15:09so we're really excited about that. Um, yeah, we just excited for y'all to see this. We just,
15:14Essence Fest is such a beautiful thing for us because we stay locked down and filming so much
15:19and, you know, uh, you know, just hours and hours, you know, reading scripts and going on set.
15:25So to be able to, um, you know, you never know how, you never know, you know, we, we, we're doing the
15:31work, right? And, and we're real people and we're doing our work and trying, and trying our best to
15:36ground these characters and the reality of their situations. So it's a beautiful thing to come
15:41here and feel y'all people who watch who these shows are for. Um, because I mean, it lets us go
15:47back to Chicago when it's cold as hell. I like the Chicago win there. I do. I do enjoy it though.
15:56We got any showtime people? I didn't even know that y'all knew who I was.
15:59Showtime people, what up? For real.
16:02We're young. Yeah. Yeah. We love y'all. We love y'all. For real.
16:07For sure. For sure. For sure. For sure. Is that it?
16:10Did we answer the question? No, nobody answered my question. Not a bit. Not a little.
16:14You said, you said sharing funny stories? No, that's not what I said.
16:16What'd you say? I said, is there anything else you think they should be prepared for this season?
16:21Uh, that's hard to give away. It's so, it's so much.
16:24Okay. Got you. Got you. It's our biggest season. It's our biggest season.
16:28We're giving you more episodes because, you know, we like that and y'all love us and
16:33we with that. And, uh, yeah, man, it's a lot of things that weren't answered, uh, early
16:38on. You'll get some answers this season. So, uh, yeah, the stakes are higher. The stakes
16:42are higher. I say that for everybody. Okay.
16:44Everybody. Yeah. Well, I'm going to go ahead and tell them y'all. Y'all ain't going to tell them.
16:47No, no, no. Y'all standing around here. Oh, it's going to be a big season. They want to hear something real.
16:53Real. All right. Tell them. Real. Don't tell them I died. I feel like he's going to play y'all.
16:58So y'all saw in this trailer, there was a coffin. Don't tell. You can't tell them I.
17:03No. So. Hey. Look. Somebody wave your hand. No, no, no. This is Essence Pass and only for Essence.
17:10Oh, and she got her camera playing. I can't say it because she recorded me. I thought it was just.
17:13I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't tell you. Anyways, on behalf of Showtime, thank you guys. Thank you guys for making it possible for us to have this supersized season. You can catch season six of The Chi air on August 4th.
17:31My birthday.
17:32On Paramount+.
17:33On Paramount+.
17:37With Showtime. And then if you have Hulu, you can catch it a day later.
17:41So I would suggest you get on Paramount+.
17:43With Showtime.
17:44Get that Paramount+.
17:45Yeah. So you can get it on time.
17:46All right, y'all. Thank you so much for your time.
17:49We're going to be out.
17:51Stay hydrated.
17:54Oh, and what?
17:57Let's go back to 1985.
18:02Essence, you are appointed to one.
18:04We are all just our ancestors' dreams.
18:14And our success represents those dreams.
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