“The Chi ”Cast Breaks Down Their ‘Bittersweet’ Final Season: ‘We’re Proud of What We’ve Done’ (Exclusive)

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• The cast of The Chi reflects on filming the eighth and final season of the hit drama series while celebrating at New York City’s Paradise Club

• “When you start, you don’t expect a major end like this, you don’t expect anything,” Yolanda Ross, who has starred in the show since the beginning, exclusively tells PEOPLE

• Season 8 of The Chi debuted on May 22

The cast of The Chi is saying a “bittersweet” goodbye to the hit drama series. 

While celebrating the final season of the long-running series from creator and executive producer Lena Waithe, cast members — including Jason Weaver, Jacob Latimore, Yolanda Ross, Zaria Imani Primer and more — gathered at New York City’s Paradise Club to commemorate the eight years they’ve spent bringing the soul of the South Side of Chicago to life through their characters.

“This is an emotional moment because I think this really puts the cherry on top of this beautiful cake that we’ve baked throughout the course of season 8 and throughout the course of the series,” Weaver, who made his debut as Rashaad “Shaad” Marshall in the show’s fourth season, exclusively tells PEOPLE one week after wrapping the show.

“These amazing people that I’ve been blessed and fortunate to work with for the past four seasons truly do mean something to me,” he continues. “It goes past just us being cast members. I love all of these guys. There are moments that we’ve had, even offscreen, where we build these really strong bonds, and I’m going to miss being able to interact with people and being a part of their lives every day.”

Latimore, who stars as Emmett Washington, a struggling young father who has matured into a dedicated parent throughout the course of the show, also attests to the fact that emotions have been at an all-time high. 

“We’ve been crying,” he says. “We literally just wrapped last week … It’s bittersweet, but you know, we’re proud of what we’ve done.”

For Ross, who has portrayed Jada Washington, a resilient single mother, since the show’s debut, the “surreal” ending to the show feels like a “full-circle, wonderful moment.”

“When you start, you don’t expect a major end like this, you don’t expect anything,” she admits. “I really think fans connect with the show because there are so many people for them to not just gravitate to, but they see themselves, they’ve reflected. They see themselves in our characters, in the situations that happen.”

Indeed, Imani Primer — known for her recurring role as Lynae — can’t help but point out how many fans have already been clamoring for a spinoff.

“It’s like I said, it’s very bittersweet,” she says, emphasizing that she is excited for whatever the future may bring. “I’m gonna miss telling stories like these and just being around these people every day and just getting to perfect my craft every day.”

Read the original article on People