The speculation that the beloved character James “Ghost” St. Patrick is not dead continues to be a topic of conversation even with executive producer, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, showrunner, Courtney A. Kemp, and Omari Hardwick, the actor that plays Ghost, confirming his death in the Power series.
Meanwhile, Kathryn Busby, Original Programming exec at Starz, shared the news with Deadline that a possible spinoff based in London is in the works. Yes, another spinoff.
The Power universe has successfully launched the backstory to antagonist Kanan Stark via Power Book III: Raising Kanan, followed Ghost’s son, Tariq, as he takes on his father’s legacy as a college student in Power Book II: Ghost, and gave the people what they were asking for with Tommy Egan’s own spinoff in Power Book IV: Force.
So far, the universe has been manageable to watch. But, to overlook an entire demand from watchers to unravel Ghost’s impasse only to compete in Top Boy territory, another show about Black people and drugs, is obviously a money grab for an airy market. Does the announcement spark excitement? Not particularly.
Let’s rewind back to the sixth season’s final episode of Power. As news traveled of Tariq killing his own father and that a spinoff was in the works with his name in the title, it seemed apparent that the spinoff would be a prequel showcasing Ghost and Tommy’s rise in the drug world beginning in the hood they hailed from — but, that wasn’t the case. Despite Tariq being one of the most hated characters on the series, fans hoping for a resurrection of Ghost tuned in to the spinoff hoping for that day. Two seasons in, and there has been no such luck.
The dilution of the Power brand without a sole focus on the characters watchers fell in love with is a head-scratching move. Maybe that’s an intentional strategy to drum up the anticipation. Still, it is beyond many of us fans why the television franchise wouldn’t run the backstories of its most polarizing characters.
It would’ve been dynamite to see Ghost and Tommy as teens, and the beginnings of Angela’s love affair with St. Patrick before he became Ghost. Also, the whole complicated relationship between Kanan, Tasha, and Ghost has always been a storyline that people were interested to see.
Whether we will ever get that from the Starz series is still up in the air. In the meantime, we have a ton of spinoffs and introductions to new characters to keep up with.
