Following Power Book II: Ghost‘s series debut earliest this month, Starz has officially decided to renew Courtney A. Kemp’s first Power spinoff series for a second season. This early renewal comes after it had became the network’s most-watched new series with record-breaking multiplatform views in its debut week that is now approaching 7.5 million.
“I am incredibly humbled by and grateful for the response from our ‘Power’ fans — the best fans in the world, period. To have our fans return — and bring new viewers to the first spinoff in the ‘Power’ Universe — is a dream come true. Back in 2012, 50, Mark, and I were warned that a premium series with leads of color would never work for a global audience. But we’ve proven everyone wrong — and thanks to Starzplay, we have fans in the UK, France, Mexico, Brazil and beyond, all plugging into the ‘Power’ Universe,” Kemp said in a statement. “In the second season, Tariq’s journey with the Tejada family will get even more complicated — and more dangerous — as he begins to understand the man he’s going to become.”
According to the network, Power Book II: Ghost delivered outsized performance on the Starz App in the first week after the premiere, driving subscriber acquisition up 42%, while also setting new records internationally as the top performing series across the Starzplay International streaming platform in several markets including the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Brazil.
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Created once again by original showrunner Courtney A. Kemp, the series picks up shortly after the original series as Tariq St. Patrick finds himself on his own for the first time in his life as his father is dead and his mother, Tasha, is facing charges for the murder Tariq committed, all while attending an Ivy League to earn his inheritance. Tariq finds himself splitting his time between school and hustling to pay for his mother’s defense attorney Davis McLean, turning to the drug game and becoming intertwined with a cutthroat family headed by Monet Stewart Tejada.
The series for the cast sees the returns of Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq and Naturi Naughton as Tasha, as well as Mary J. Blige (The Umbrella Academy) as Monet, Shane Johnson returning as Cooper Saxe, Gani Paolo (The Fosters), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Ray Donovan), Daniel Bellomy, Paige Hurd (Hawaii Five-O), Cliff “Method Man” Smith (The Deuce) and Melanie Liburd (This is Us).
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Kemp acts as creator, showrunner and executive producer via her banner End of Episode alongside Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson via his G-Unit Film and Television company, with Mark Canton executive producing for Atmosphere Entertainment MM and End of Episode’s Chris Selak and Danielle De Jesus also attached.
The premiere season of Power Book II: Ghost is set to air in two parts, with the mid-season finale airing Sunday, October 4 and a return set later this year for the five remaining episodes.
