Showtime Schedule Adds The Chi, Guerrilla and I’m Dying Up Here

Guerrilla, The Chi and I’m Dying Up Here join the upcoming Showtime schedule

Showtime has today revealed its upcoming schedule, adding three new series to the mix. Guerrilla, The Chi and I’m Dying Up Here join the Showtime schedule for 2017 and you can read more about each below.

RELATED: Twin Peaks Premiere Date Announced by Showtime

Guerrilla, premiering Sunday, April 16 at 9:00pm ET/PT, hails from Academy Award winner John Ridley. The six-part limited event series offers a love story set against the backdrop of one of the most politically explosive times in U.K. history. It tells the story of a couple whose relationship and values are tested when they liberate a political prisoner and form a radical underground cell in 1970s London. Their ultimate target becomes the Black Power Desk, a true-life, secretive counter-intelligence unit within the Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism. While the series is set against a background of social and political activism, at its heart Guerrilla is about a relationship under pressure, and the reality that for any couple there comes a point when the choices they make have real and lasting consequences.

Guerrilla stars Screen Actors Guild Award winner Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) and Babou Ceesay (Getting On). Golden Globe winner Idris Elba (Luther, Beasts of No Nation) co-stars and serves as an executive producer through his Green Door Pictures. Additional cast includes Laurence Olivier Award winner Rory Kinnear (Penny Dreadful), Nathaniel Martello-White (Deadmeat), Daniel Mays (Line of Duty), Denise Gough (People, Places & Things), Brandon Scott (Grey’s Anatomy), Zawe Ashton (Fresh Meat) and Nicholas Pinnock (Fortitude).

Along with Ridley and Elba, the executive producers on Guerrilla are Michael J. McDonald for Stearns Castle, Patrick Spence and Katie Swinden for Fifty Fathoms and Tracy Underwood for ABC Signature. Ridley wrote the majority of the episodes and directs the first two and the finale, with Emmy Award nominee Sam Miller (LutherFortitude, American Crime) directing the remaining episodes. Guerrilla is a co-production between Fifty Fathoms and ABC Signature, in association with SKY UK.

Next up on the Showtime schedule is I’m Dying Up Here, which explores L.A.’s famed ‘70s stand-up comedy scene where the careers of legends such as David Letterman, Jay Leno and Richard Pryor were launched. The series delves into the inspired, damaged and complicated psyches of those who stand alone in front of an audience “dying” for fame, fortune and, with any luck, a shot on Johnny Carson. I’m Dying Up Here stars Academy Award winner Melissa Leo, Ari Graynor, Michael Angarano, Clark Duke, Andrew Santino, Erik Griffin, RJ Cyler, Al Madrigal, and Jake Lacy as part of a large ensemble cast.

This fictional group of competitive but close-knit comedians is mentored by “Goldie” (Leo), a brassy comedy club owner who rules over her business with an iron fist, but nurtures her comedians with tough love. For Goldie and her crew, there’s truly no such thing as an easy laugh. Recurring guest stars include Stephen Guarino, Brianne Howey, Jon Daly, and Ginger Gonzaga.

Produced by Showtime, I’m Dying Up Here is created and executive produced by Dave Flebotte, and executive produced by Michael Aguilar and Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey, along with Christina Wayne for Endemol Shine Studios and Assembly Entertainment. The series is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by William Knoedelseder. The pilot was written by Flebotte and directed by Jonathan Levine.

Look for I’m Dying Up Here to premiere June 4 at 10:00pm ET/PT.

RELATED: The Affair Season 4 Greenlit by Showtime

Finally, the Showtime schedule adds the new one-hour drama series, The Chi. Produced by Fox 21, The Chi offers a relevant, timely and distinctive coming-of-age story and follows a half dozen interrelated characters in the South Side of Chicago. Joining the cast is Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton) as “Brandon,” an ambitious and confident young man who dreams about opening a restaurant of his own someday, but is conflicted between the promise of a new life and his responsibility to his mother and teenage brother back in the South Side.

Elwood Reid (The Bridge) will executive produce and serve as showrunner along with Waithe. Aaron Kaplan (Secrets and Lies, The Mysteries of Laura) will executive produce. Rick Famuyiwa (Dope) will executive produce and direct the premiere episode.

Created, executive produced and written by Lena Waithe (Master of None, Bones) and executive produced by Grammy and Academy Award winner Common (Selma, Smokin’ Aces), The Chi does not yet have a premiere date announced.

Movie News

Marvel and DC

X