Power is an American crime drama-thriller television series created and produced by Courtney A. Kemp in collaboration with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. [1] It aired on the Starz network from June 7, 2014 to February 9, 2020.
Upon release, Power gained positive reviews and is one of Starz's highest-rated shows and one of cable's most-watched shows. [2] [3] Prior to the fifth-season premiere, Starz renewed the show for a sixth and final season, which premiered on August 25, 2019. [4] [5]
Power tells the story of James St. Patrick, an intelligent, smooth yet ruthless drug dealer who goes by the alias of "Ghost." He wishes to leave the criminal world to pursue legitimate business interests as a nightclub owner. St. Patrick aims to balance those two lives, while also avoiding police capture, trying to navigate his crumbling marriage and manage shifting economic alliances.
The show features James' family, which consists of his wife Tasha, twins Tariq and Raina and baby Yasmine. Power also follows James' criminal partner and best friend Tommy Egan, love interest and criminal prosecutor Angela Valdes, friend-turned-rival Kanan Stark, protege and rival Andre Coleman, and Angela's colleague, Cooper Saxe. Defense attorney Joe Proctor, district attorney John Mak and politician Rashad Tate also appear in the show's later seasons.
Power utilizes episodic cliff hangers as plot devices to carry its story forward.
In Australia, all episodes are available to stream after their US airing on Stan. [6] The show is available weekly after its US airing on Netflix in the United Kingdom and Ireland. [7] [8] [9] In Scandinavia and Finland, all episodes are available to stream on HBO Nordic. [10]
Season 1 of Power received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Metacritic gives the season a score of 57 out of 100, based on 15 reviews, indicating a mixed reaction to the series. [25] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a score of 44%, based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's consensus states, "Power suffers from excessive plotting and the use of overly familiar by-the-numbers story elements." [26]
Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter observed in his review, "Power seemingly wants to be a show that tells a big, complicated, meaningful story about, well, the perils and problems of power and how one man deals with them." [27] Critic Brian Lowry of Variety states in his review, "The three previewed episodes of the show, created by The Good Wife alumna Courtney A. Kemp, move briskly enough, but they're still only moderately compelling. And while 50 Cent's participation provides some promotional heft (he has a cameo in a later episode), the allure of such behind-the-scenes marquee names is usually limited. Mostly, this is undemanding escapism with all the requisite pay-TV trappings, along the lines of what Cinemax is offering in episodic form. While that might be a formula to keep Ghost visible for some time to come, creatively speaking, it leaves Power a touch low on juice. [28]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a score of 100%, based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. [29] Review aggregator Metacritic gives the season a score of 75 out of 100, based on 4 reviews, indicating a generally favorable reaction to the series. [30] The New York Daily News staff writes in their review, "Power hits on all cylinders as it returns for its second season. Throw a couple of great women into Ghost's life—his wife, Tasha (Naturi Naughton), and his recently resurfaced lifelong flame Angela (Lela Loren)—and you have drama that's hard not to keep watching." [31]
Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a score of 78%, based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. [32]
Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a score of 83%, based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. [33]
Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a score of 100%, based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. [34]
With the conclusion of the original series, it was announced that Starz had planned four upcoming spin-offs in the same universe as Power. These begin with Power Book II: Ghost, which, following shortly after the events of the original series, focuses on Ghost's son Tariq navigating his new criminal life and intending to shed his father's legacy while dealing with mounting pressure to protect his family, including his mother Tasha. The series co-stars Mary J. Blige and Method Man. [35] The other spin-offs include: Power Book III: Raising Kanan, a prequel into the life of Kanan Stark (50 Cent); Power Book IV: Force, which follows Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) originally headed to Los Angeles, California and ending up in the city of Chicago; and Power Book V: Influence, a sequel set in the political world centering on Councilman Tate's (Larenz Tate) ruthless rise to power. [36] [37] The development of Power Book V: Influence was cancelled in August 2022 and the series would not be moving forward. [38] In March 2024, a prequel series, Origins, which will follow the beginning story of characters Ghost and Tommy, was confirmed to be in development. [39]
Power Book II: Ghost premiered on September 6, 2020, [40] and has aired four seasons, ending on October 4, 2024.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan premiered on July 18, 2021, [37] and has aired three seasons. In November 2023, ahead of the third season, the series was renewed for a fourth season. [41] In March 2024, ahead of the fourth season, the series was renewed for a fifth season. [42]
Power Book IV: Force premiered on February 6, 2022, and has aired two seasons. [43] In December 2023, the series was renewed for a third and final season. [44]
Omar Hashim Epps is an American actor, rapper, and producer. Epps's film roles include Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball. His television work includes the role of Dr. Dennis Gant on the medical drama series ER, J. Martin Bellamy in Resurrection, Dr. Eric Foreman on the Fox medical drama series House from 2004 to 2012, Isaac Johnson in the TV series Shooter from 2016 to 2018, and Detective Malcolm Howard on the Starz crime drama Power Book III: Raising Kanan. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.
Golden Brooks is an American actress. She began her career with starring role in the Showtime comedy series, Linc's (1998–2000), and later appeared in the films Timecode (2000) and Impostor (2001).
Naturi Cora Maria Naughton-Lewis is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Naughton is best known as one-third of the R&B group 3LW and for her acting roles in the films Fame and Notorious, playing rapper Lil' Kim in the latter film. Naughton was a series regular on the NBC series The Playboy Club as Bunny Brenda, starred in the first season of the Lifetime drama series The Client List as Kendra and starred in the Starz drama Power as Tasha St. Patrick, a role she reprised in the spin-off series Power Book II: Ghost. In 2022, she starred as Jill “Da Thrill” in the ABC series Queens.
Lance Darnell Gross is an American actor and model. He is known for his role as Calvin Payne on the TBS/BET sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne, for which he won four NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Black Sails is an American historical action-adventure television series set on New Providence Island. It was written to be a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island, while also including depictions of several real-life historical figures and fictionalized versions of actual historical events. The series was created by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine for Starz. It debuted online for free on YouTube and other various streaming platform and video-on-demand services on January 18, 2014. The debut on cable television followed a week later on January 25, 2014. Steinberg is executive producer, alongside Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, while Michael Angeli, Doris Egan, and Levine are co-executive producers. The show depicts treasure-seeking pirates in their attempt to establish a Republic of Pirates.
The Girlfriend Experience is an American anthology drama television series created, written, and directed by Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz shown on the premium cable network Starz. The first season stars Riley Keough as Christine Reade, a law student intern who also works as a high-end escort. Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, it is based on the 2009 film of the same name. A 13-episode first season premiered on April 10, 2016, and all episodes were made available on Starz On Demand.
Sweetbitter is an American drama television series, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Stephanie Danler and inspired by her time working in New York’s well-known restaurant Union Square Café. The show premiered on May 6, 2018, on Starz. In July 2018, it was announced that Starz had renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on July 14, 2019. In December 2019, the series was canceled after two seasons.
Power Book II: Ghost, or simply Ghost is an American crime drama television series created by Courtney A. Kemp, that aired from September 6, 2020 to October 4, 2024 on Starz. The series is both a direct sequel and spin-off to Power.
Power Book IV: Force, or simply Force is an American crime drama television series created by Robert Munic that premiered on February 6, 2022, on Starz. The series is a sequel and third spin-off to Power created by Courtney A. Kemp. In March 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 1, 2023. In December 2023, the series was renewed for a third season. In June 2024, it was announced that the third season will be the final season.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan, or simply Raising Kanan is an American crime drama television series created by Sascha Penn that premiered on July 18, 2021, on Starz. It is a standalone prequel and second spin-off to Power.
Lovie Simone Oppong is an American actress, best known for her role as Zora Greenleaf in drama series Greenleaf.
Minx is an American comedy television series created and written by Ellen Rapoport and starring Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson for HBO Max and later Starz. It aired from March 17, 2022 to September 8, 2023.
Michael Rainey Jr. is an American actor and record producer best known for the role of Tariq St. Patrick on Power and Power Book II: Ghost. He also starred as Michael Burset in Orange Is the New Black and Jalen in Barbershop: The Next Cut.
Davis MacLean, portrayed by Method Man, is a fictional character from the Starz television series Power Book II: Ghost, a sequel and spin-off to Power, he is one of the main characters within the series and a criminal defense attorney mainly for Tariq St. Patrick in season 1 and season 2 prior were he forged an alliance with Cooper Saxe.
Tommy Egan, portrayed by Joseph Sikora, is a fictional character from the Starz television series, Power and spin-offs, Book II and Book IV. He is a convicted drug dealer from Jamaica, Queens and the only character to feature in three out of four shows in the Power Universe.
Angela Valdes, portrayed by Lela Loren, is a fictional character from the Starz original television drama series Power. She was a Latina federal prosecutor whose goal and mission was to solve the mystery behind the infamous "Ghost" until she realized she had been in love with him the entire time.
Josefina “Effie” Morales portrayed by Alix Lapri, is a fictional character from the Starz crime drama Power, and its spin-off and sequel, Power Book II: Ghost. She is a drug dealer and a former student at Choate where she supposedly had Tariq St. Patrick expelled from.
The Power Universe is a media franchise of an American television crime drama series created by Courtney A. Kemp in collaboration with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. The franchise produced one of the highest rated shows on Starz and most watched on the cable network.