Starz shocked diehard Power universe fans when the network released the official teaser for Power Book II: Ghost on Thursday (March 14). Over cryptic shots of the main players in Tariq St. Patrick’s world of chaos and the sound of a ticking clock, the brief teaser reveals in bold letters that the fourth season of the Power spinoff will be its final season.
Set to premiere on June 7, the season will be split into two parts with the second part premiering on Sept. 6. From what the teaser shows, returning cast includes lead actor Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq, Gianni Paolo as Brayden Weston, Alix Lapri as Effie, Woody McClain as Cane Tejada, Lovell Adams-Gray as Dru Tejada, LaToya Tonodeo as Diana Tejada, Method Man as Davis Maclean, and Mary J. Blige as Monet.
Watch The Official Teaser
A creation of Courtney A. Kemp in partnership with executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, the original Power series, starring Omari Hardwick, Natura Naughton, and Lela Loren, had a great 63-episode run from 2014 to 2020.
The series’ impact continued through several spin-offs, following the ongoing trials of Tariq in the aftermath of his father’s, James “Ghost” St. Patrick, death in Power Book II: Ghost, delving into the backstory for antagonist character Kanan Stark (first played by Jackson and later, portrayed by Mekai Curtis) in Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and building on a new criminal underbelly disrupted by Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) in Power Book IV: Force.
Season 2 of Power Book IV: Force ended in Nov. 2023, just before the third season premiere of Power Book III: Raising Kanan in Dec. 2023, which ran episodes until Feb. 2024. Another derivative television series from Jackson’s portfolio, BMF, a creation of Randy Huggins, executive produced by Jackson, Anne Clements, Anthony Wilson, Heather Zuhlke, Terri Kopp, and Tasha Smith, premiered its third season on March 1, 2024.
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Jeff Hirsh, CEO of Starz, implied some television series would be cancelled as he revealed the channel’s development and cost efficiency strategies at a conference.
“You have to have in your portfolio of development shows that can actually replace shows as they get into later seasons,” Hirsh said. “You look at the [Power] map and say, ‘Okay, if I take one of those characters out and spin one of those out, I can bring that on to replace the Power show at half the cost.’ Now I’m putting a lot of money right to the bottom line and I’m really not losing anything in terms of acquisition costs and subscriber viewership, because we know what those demos want. We know how to line those up and so, that’s really the core of getting to that 20% — turning that slate over with fresh content to drive the business.”
He likened the strategy to a NFL player with an expiring rookie deal transitioning to veteran status being replaced by another rookie player to cut down costs. In other words, it’s similar to when a corporation lays off senior staff and replaces them with recent college graduates, knowingly for cost efficiency.
Hirsch finishes, “You have to pop a new show on to bring that cost down.”
