‘Rap Sh!t’ Will Not Return for Season 3 on Max

The second season of the Max comedy series “Rap Sh!t” will be its last.

Created by Issa Rae, who also executive produced alongside showrunner Syreeta Singleton, “Rap Sh!t” charted the ascent of Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap duo and try to make it big in the music business. The dramedy also starred Jonica Booth (Chastity), RJ Cyler (Lamont) and Daniel Augustin (Maurice).

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“I’m so proud of and grateful for Syreeta, our cast, writers and crew that made this show possible,” Rae tells Variety in a statement. “Thanks to Sarah Aubrey and Suzanna Makkos for championing the show, and much love to the fans that tuned in weekly to root for our girls.”

Adds Singleton: “I love this show and I am so proud of the work we’ve done. We created something fun, raw, and original and we did it our way! I will forever be grateful to Issa, our incredible cast, the amazing writers and crew that made this show possible. And so grateful to Max for giving us the chance to bring ‘Rap Sh!t’ to the screen.”

The series launched in July 2022 as Rae’s first scripted series following the Emmy-winning hit “Insecure.” During its run, “Rap Sh!t” garnered nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards (for KaMillion’s lead performance), the Gotham Awards (breakthrough series shortform) and the NAACP Image Awards (comedy series, as well as breakthrough creative for Singleton), among other nods.

The eight-episode second season was originally set to debut on Aug. 10, but was delayed until Nov. 9 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The new episodes launched to strong reviews from critics (with a 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes), including Variety TV critic Aramide Tinubu, who praised the series for its “textured and raw” exploration of what happens when your dreams come to fruition.

“As Mia, Shawna and Chastity navigate new stages and audiences, they learn that fame and notoriety don’t change origin stories or past traumas,” Tinubu wrote in her review. “Dreams can come true, but they can also unearth nightmares.”

In addition to its nuanced portrayal of Black women navigating the rap game, the series was also lauded for its music. Raedio, the music supervision arm of Rae’s Hoorae media company, was responsible for curating the show’s hot sound, including original tracks like Shawna and Mia’s breakthrough hit “Seduce & Scheme,” which was nominated for a Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, and “BBW,” which debuted at the end of Season 2. The Dec. 21 episode “Under Construction,” written by Rae and directed by Calmatic, now serves as the series finale.

“Rap Sh!t” is also executive produced by Montrel McKay for Hoorae, Jonathan Berry and Dave Becky for 3 Arts Entertainment, and Jim Kleverweis. Hip-hop duo Yung Miami and JT of City Girls serve as co-executive producers, along with Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas for Quality Control Films and Sara Rastogi and Jax Clark for Hoorae.

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