Jason Weaver and Hannaha Hall not only star in The Chi, they’re natives of the actual city. For that reason, they’ve made it a point to go through the show’s script and ensure they’re representing Chicago in the right way.
“If it don’t feel like Chicago, we gonna let it be known,” Jason tells ABC Audio. “And to our writers and producers credit, they’ll listen to us and it’ll be like, ‘oh yeah, y’all wanna make that adjustment? Oh, okay, cool. Let’s do it.’ So from that aspect it’s really, really cool.”
In the event that something is still off, he says fellow Chicagoans won’t hesitate to share some construction criticism.
“I think the city of Chicago is very proud of what we represent on screen because we do present a very authentic representation of what life is like in the community, whether you’re from the south side or the west side,” he says. “The community recognizes that, appreciates that, but they will also tell you when you outside, they’ll be like, ‘Hey man, now when y’all do that next time, man do it like this, man."”
Jason adds that once the community feels involved and not like you’re “invading they space” and disrupting their everyday flow and pattern, they’re unbothered and pretty welcoming.
“Be respectful, you know what I mean? Although you’re there working, speak, be polite. Handle your business, like when you get through doing whatever it is that you’re doing, make sure you left the neighborhood the same way you found it,” he advises. “I think that’s the only thing that people really look to from us.”
New episodes of The Chi air Fridays on Paramount+ Premium and Sundays on the Showtime channel.
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