Showtime has ordered a pair of series that might be worth checking out: a Chicago-based show created by Lena Waithe and a comedian-based series from Jamie Foxx starring Jay Pharoah.
For Waithe’s show The Chi, Variety reports that Straight Outta Compton’s Jason Mitchell will play “a young man with ambitions of opening a restaurant but conflicted by his responsibilities to his mother and teenage brother in Chicago.” Laithe is serving as co-showrunner, and she and Common are among the executive producers. Director Rick Famuyiwa (Dope, Brown Sugar) is on board to direct the first episode.
The Jamie Foxx project, titled White Famous, stars Pharoah as an aspiring comedian with crossover dreams, aka he wants to be “white famous.” Not sure about the humor prospects on that one since I’m not a huge fan of Pharoah’s brand of comedy. The series is based on Foxx’s humble beginnings in standup and he’ll also be a recurring character on the show.