Hello everyone! Lena Waithe posted a new tease on Instagram this week, and Chicago fans are paying close attention.
She paired The Chi’s official account with the Chicago Cubs in a single post. The caption made it sound like something exciting is on the way. Waithe wrote: “@shothechi x @cubs timeline cleanse. We played enough defense, 2026 is all offense!”
For anyone who’s been following Waithe’s career, the Cubs connection makes a lot of sense. She’s a proud Chicago native. The Chi is set on the city’s South Side. It premiered on Showtime in 2018 and has been bringing the community’s characters and stories into living rooms across the country ever since. The show has run for multiple seasons and built a dedicated fan base that reaches well beyond Chicago’s borders.
The Cubs are one of the most beloved teams in all of baseball. In Chicago, they’re practically family. A pairing between a prestige drama and a Major League Baseball franchise isn’t the most obvious collaboration, but Waithe has a gift for connecting things that feel like they naturally belong together.
What does “all offense” actually mean? That part is still up in the air. It could be a promotional campaign between the show and the Cubs organization. It could hint at a storyline, a special episode, or a broader brand partnership heading into the 2026 season. No dates, no episode details, and no formal announcements were attached to the post.
That ambiguity is pretty on-brand for Waithe. Her social media presence leans toward teasing rather than explaining, and this post fits that pattern perfectly. The image of The Chi and the Cubs sitting side by side is striking enough on its own to get people speculating.
The show has earned both a loyal audience and genuine critical respect. Waithe created The Chi by drawing from her own experiences growing up in Chicago. That personal connection shows in every episode. The series follows a close-knit group of South Side residents navigating the joys and pressures of everyday life in their neighborhood. It’s the kind of show that puts Chicago’s real culture on screen in a way that feels honest and lived-in.
Waithe is one of the most celebrated storytellers working in television today. In 2017, she became the first Black woman to win an Emmy for comedy writing. She earned that honor for her work on the Netflix series Master of None. That recognition opened doors, and she’s used them to keep championing Chicago’s story on the national stage.
Bringing the Cubs into that world makes thematic sense. Both the team and the show carry Chicago’s spirit in their own ways. The Cubs have long been associated with the North Side, and The Chi is rooted in the South Side. Joining them under one banner, whether for a marketing push or a more creative project, could represent something genuinely meaningful for the city as a whole.
The 2026 MLB season is already underway. The Chi may have big news on the horizon. A social media signal like this one is exactly how Waithe tends to set the table before a major announcement.
Fans of the show and followers of the Cubs now have something fun to look forward to. Waithe said 2026 is all offense. Given her track record, that’s a promise worth watching.
