New Comedy Central show called South Side is on point

There’s a new program out about the South Side that will have you in stitches. It is appropriately called “South Side,” and it airs on cable station Comedy Central beginning July 24 at 9:30 p.m. Central.

In the premiere episode called “XBOX,” the show’s two main characters Simon, played by Sultan Salahuddin, and Kareme, played by Kareme Young, have just graduated from Kennedy-King College located in Englewood. Simon wants to go into business, and Kareme figures he can be an astronaut with an Associate’s Degree.

They have been working in a rental company called Rent-T-Own, whose boss Q can be seen explaining rental terms for a bedroom set at $39.99 for 160 weeks to a couple who seem just as eager to rent as the boss is to seal the usurious rental agreement.

The neighborhood cops, Chandra Russell as Sgt. Turner and Bashir Salahuddin as Officer Goodnight, are on the take—as could be normal in the “city of big shoulders.” In “XBOX,” they can be seen pressuring the rental store for so-called protection money. “This is a savage community. Your Buffalo Grove mentality is going to get you murdered,” Turner tells Goodnight.

There’s a graduation party scene held in Beverly Woods Restaurant and the ubiquitous shots of the great Chicago skyline and the El.

Many shows and films have cropped up lately about Chicago. This one caught my interest, because at least in the first episode, there’s not all the doom and gloom, i.e., drivebys and shootings. It seems that the creators have brought something to bear that is just “Comedy Central” funny. Upcoming episodes include “Sell Yourself,” “The Day The New Jordan’s Drop” and “Mild Sauce Meatballs,” among others.

Tune in Wednesday night, July 24, for a show about the South Side that is topical and funny, where folks brag about being on Section 8, talk about “doing a bid,” speak about the “wild 100s” and old timers drive around in vintage caddies sporting huge Afros—all in the name of good, old fashioned fun. And all that I imagine goes on daily in the Windy City.

“South Side” is created by Jimmy Fallon alums Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin, and also stars LaRoyce Hawkins of “Chicago P.D.” fame and West Side native, comedian and actor Lil Rel Howery.

For more information, visit http://www.cc.com/video-clips/yeg08p/south-side-meet-chicago-s-newest-side-hustlers.