Brandon Johnson, played by Jason Mitchell, is the main character in Showtime's crime drama series ‘The Chi.' Brandon is a driven young chef who aspires to open his own restaurant someday. He is in a relationship with Jerrika Little (Tiffany Boone), who grew up in a wealthy family, in stark contrast to Brandon's turbulent upbringing.
Brandon is promoted to line cook at a high-end restaurant at the beginning of the season. Later in the series, he opens Smokey's BBQ with Emmett Washington. Mitchell was fired from the cast of ‘The Chi' after season two, and his character was killed off. Here's everything we know about it.
How Did Brandon Die in the Chi?
As of now, viewers do not know how Brandon died, but it is possible that he was murdered on the streets of Chicago, similar to his brother Coogie (Jahking Guillory).
There is a weird unsettling visual of his burial with a closed coffin and a large photo of him next to it early in the show (actor Jason Mitchell isn't actually in the episode at any point). At the emotional event, his mother, Laverne (Sonja Sohn), delivers a eulogy.
“He never had a chance!” “Neither did Coogie!” she exclaims angrily. “I had no business bringing those boys into the world.” They were all I had, and this city had taken them away from me. So I'll always be broken. And there's nothing that'll ever make me whole again.”
Hopefully, we'll learn more about how he died and what happened in the next nine episodes, but given the behind-the-scenes drama with Jason, we had a feeling something horrible was going to happen to Brandon.
Why Did Jason Mitchell Leave ‘The Chi'?
Jason was sacked from The Chi in May 2019 due to misconduct charges made during production by Season 2 showrunner Ayanna Floyd Davis and his co-star (and on-screen lover) Tiffany Boone, who also departed the show after the turmoil.
At the time, Gary Levine, Showtime Co-President of Entertainment, stated that his character will be killed off the show. “There's a lot of great life in The Chi, but there's also a lot of death in The Chi, and that's how we'll deal with it,” he explained.
According to Ayanna's statement to THR, the series creator, Lena Waithe, brought everything to her attention. “As a result of this information, I spoke with the studio's human resources department and scheduled HR presentations for the writers, cast, and crew.” Finally, everyone was well aware of Jason's behavior and his numerous HR issues, including Lena, the show's creator and executive producer, who is heavily involved at the studio and network levels.”
“As a showrunner, I did everything I could to deal with his behavior, including speaking with the studio's HR department several times and instructing one actress to call HR herself, before I became a target of his rage and inappropriateness and had to report him to HR as well,” she continued. He then accused her of making an impolite remark on stage.
Brandon's Ending is Revealed in Season 4
The third season began with Brandon's mother, Laverne, delivering her oldest son's eulogy before fleeing the city, which she blamed for the deaths of both of her sons.
The previous main character was scarcely referenced for the rest of the season, and viewers never knew how he died or who killed him. However, in season 4, someone shot Douda, the new mayor of the city, when he was waiting for a love interest on the rooftop.
While he was recovering from his wound, Laverne revealed herself as the shooter and stated that she did not believe he deserved to live for what he had done to her son.
After Douda recovered from the gunshot wound, he revealed his shooter's name to his wife and admitted to murdering or being involved in the murder of Brandon after discovering the aspiring chef had switched on them. The Chi airs on Showtime on Sundays at 9/8 Central.
