Lynn Whitfield was only supposed to appear in three episodes of The Chi at first. What started as a guest star role evolved into a major presence in the Showtime series, which concludes its sixth season on Sunday, June 30 on the cable network.
The logline for the episode says, “Thanksgiving marks a time for reunions and revelations as families gather to celebrate. As jaw-dropping events unfold, loyalties will be tested, bonds will be broken, tears will be shed, and some lives will be forever changed.” Whitfield joined TV Insider at our in-office studio in New York City to discuss her time on The Chi and preview what’s to come in the finale, and she warns of “tumultuous change” in the video interview above.
Whitfield plays Alicia, the ferociously independent woman whom the actor describes as a mob boss type above. The mother of Rob (Iman Shumpert), Alicia suffers no fools and doesn’t wait for things to work out. She takes matters into her own hands when she needs something handled. Her conflict with Douda (Curtiss Cook) could come to a head in the Season 6 finale, Whitfield tells us.
“Shifts, hills and valleys, roller coaster rides, tumultuous change” are the words the Emmy winner would use to describe the drama to come. The Chi has already been renewed for Season 7, but Whitfield remains coy about whether we’ll see Alicia again when the show returns.
This extended arc on the Chicago-based drama was unexpected for the Greenleaf alum, but she’s loved the experience of working with the younger generation of actors who have grown up onscreen through the show’s six seasons. In fact, she prefers working with actors with different experiences from her own. When her younger co-stars call her an “icon” (which, of course, she very much is), Whitfield reminds them that the goal on set is “to create an equal playing field. Everybody’s standing flatfoot and equal in the sandbox so that we can play together. That is what I love.”
“They already create a comfortable environment on set, but I love coming and letting everyone know through what I bring to the set that it’s not about” being an “icon,” Whitfield continues, adding with a laugh, “Don’t be standing on my shoulders, ’cause I have a lot of s**t to do!” It’s all about “creating the truth,” she says, “because those moments are the moments of humanity that resonate. It’s just fun!”
That humanity is what Whitfield believes keeps viewers coming back to The Chi. “There is a character for everyone,” she says, adding that everyone “can find a mirror of themselves” in the show. She’s known for playing powerful women, but what about Alicia was new for the star?
“The edge of her,” Whitfield shares. She’s “a glamorous gangster who lives on the edge and lives by the rules of the street, which she learned from her brother who has now been murdered.” The “unexpected godmother” element of Alicia is something Whitfield finds intriguing. “She by accident steps into this because she can’t find anybody else to take care of it.”
“To explore that, and to explore retribution and revenge without a conscience” was a fascinating creative opportunity for the star. Find out more about Whitfield’s time on The Chi in the full video interview above.
The Chi, Season 6 Finale, Sunday, June 30, 9/8c, Showtime, Streaming Now on Paramount+ With Showtime