After only a few episodes, Lena Waithe’s The Chi has been renewed for Season 2 at Showtime.

This comes as the show ranks as the best new series for the network since Billions and its last episode is a 41 percent increase in viewership since the premiere.

“From viewers and critics alike, the response to The Chi has been so enthusiastic from the very start that our decision to renew the series was an easy one. We love the vibrant characters and the nuanced world that Lena has created. Her vision for The Chi has clearly struck a chord, and we know she has many more moving, personal and resonant stories to tell about her beloved hometown,” said Showtime Networks programming president Gary Levine.

Created and exec produced by Waithe, it’s also executive produced by Common and Elwood Reid and Aaron Kaplan. Rick Famuyiwa is onboard as a director and executive producer.

In Season 2, Ayanna Floyd Davis will take over as showrunner. Elwood Reed is the showrunner for Season 1.

The series “explores the humanity behind the headlines sensationalizing the South Side of Chicago.”

It stars Jason Mitchell (Detroit, Mudbound), Jacob Latimore (Detroit, Sleight), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Queen of Katwe), Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Yolonda Ross (The Get Down), Armando Riesco (Bull) and Tiffany Boone (The Following). Sonja Sohn, Jahking Guillory (Kicks), and Steven Williams recur.

Showtime’s description: Kevin (Hibbert) is the pre-teen who must step past shattered illusions and embrace the normal rites of childhood, while Brandon (Mitchell) the dreamer makes his own nearly impossible leap of faith to succeed in life and love with girlfriend Jerrika (Boone). Emmett (Latimore) is the carefree teen is thrust into complex responsibility with guidance from his mother Jada (Ross), and Ronnie (Mwine) is the drifter whose struggle to love and be loved calls into question his every pursuit.