On February 21st, 2023, HBO Max announced they weren’t renewing the beloved sitcom South Side for a fourth season. South Side centers on "a pair of newly minted community college graduates and small-time hustlers who are always cooking up some petty scheme from black market Viagra to street corner popcorn — with an eye toward upward mobility," and since its debut in 2019, viewers found immense joy and representation in the hilarious escapades of Simon, K, and Officers Goodnight and Turner. 

The writers, actors, producers, and entire crew of South Side worked hard and succeeded in shining a new light on the South Side of Chicago. They pushed back on negative narratives and highlighted the joy in the everyday lives of Black people on the South Side.  Needless to say, we (and a lot of other fans in Chicago and beyond) want to see South Side’s story continue!

On the City Cast Chicago podcast, executive producer Bashir Salahuddin points out the show's impact: "The show represented the sort of easygoing, very familiar…Chicago is a place where you go to somebody's house for Thanksgiving and don't know anybody and then by the time you leave, you got a new family." 

Atavia Reed said it best in the Chicago publication Block Club: "Black Chicago got its due on the HBO Max show. It never made South Side neighborhoods or its neighbors the butt of a joke, but it did hilariously comment on South Siders’ lives, adages, and the unique magic that makes this city unlike any other place." 

Sign and share this petition to implore networks and streaming services to pick up South Side, and know that in doing so, they'll be making the right decision. This show comes with a healthy audience that deserves to be represented in media. We want South Side back on television!