Since its inception, the coming-of-age drama that wades through the heartwarming (and heart-rending) parts of Chicago’s South Side has captured us. Season 4 brought yet another intergenerational story — centering community policing, the formative makings of revolutionary minds, and changing family dynamics. On the heels of the finale, The Chi creator and executive producer Lena Waithe announced that the show has been renewed for its fifth season on Showtime.

“Season 5 of The Chi is coming. It is done. It is written,” Waithe said to her Instagram Live after-show with her star-studded cast. “You’ve been going with us. The Chi has been a journey. We’ve learned a lot. We’ve grown a lot. And these characters have grown with us. We’ve yelled at them. We’ve done silly things with them. We’ve watched them go from babies to young men and young ladies.” According to Deadline, the renewal comes as ratings for the series have soared. Averaging 4.2 million weekly viewers, the premium television network is witnessing the show catapult into the highest ranks of viewership and is on its way to become the most-streamed Showtime series ever. Season 5 is slated to premiere in 2022.

The cliffhanger finale was fittingly named “A Raisin in the Sun” after the 1959 play written by South Side native Lorraine Hansberry, the first Black woman to have her work performed on Broadway. Like its namesake, the epic episode grapples with the prospective enviableness of dreams amidst oppressive circumstances that rule their lives. “We definitely wanted to fulfill the promise to the question that we asked at the beginning of the season: Can the community take care of itself? And we thought it was important for that answer to be ‘Yes,’” showrunner Justin Hillian told TVLine of the finale. “And of course, it’s not perfect. But seeing people have that joy? Yeah, it was definitely the plan.”