According to Deadline, Ashja Cooper (Everybody Wants Some!!!, Black As Night) will continue her work as a guest star on Power Book III: Raising Kanan before becoming a series regular on Power: Origins. The upcoming fifth season will be the former’s finale. Cooper plays Tiana, a sex worker under Flossie Siegel. After working on Power Book III: Raising Kanan, she will join Power: Origins as a series. Spoiler warning for the paragraph below.

The news comes just after a major revelation in the most recent episode. Tiana is not exactly who she seemed, and it was discovered that her real name is Jarirta, a name known to fans of the series. Cooper plays the younger version of Tasha’s Smith character, who appeared in the second season of the original series. She is the mother Kanan’s son. Kanan is played by Curtis Jackson (Curtis Jackson’s (Get Rich Or Die Tryin, Escape Plan) better known by his stage name 50 Cent.  Her role in the Power: Origins will add a significant amount of context for Kanan’s life.

In an interview with Deadline, Cooper said that she was unaware of her character’s role in the series when she auditioned. The series creator Sascha Penn (Code 8, Creed 11), Showrunner, and Executive Producer would eventually reveal the secret behind Tiana’s character in a phone call. At the time, Cooper was unaware of the gravity her character carried within the universe. 

“I still haven’t watched Power, but one of the producers sent me footage of Jarita’s appearances so that I could see how she sounded, how she moved, and who the character was. She was only in one season, so there was like a lot of freedom to play her. I never went back to watch because I still wanted that freedom to find her. I didn’t want to try to be exactly like what I would be seeing. This is the young version of her, and she hasn’t had certain experiences yet to become the woman that she is,” Cooper stated per Deadline.

She continued,“She’s a survivor; she’s smart; she’s perceptive, observant, and she’s a baddie. This season, you’re gonna see the development of her relationship with Kanan. What you are seeing now is the beginning stages of a tumultuous relationship. You’re seeing puppy love. She has no idea who this man is that she’s getting involved with, but she’s falling for him; she feels safe with him, and time will tell who he really is,” via Deadline.

Spoilers for the information below. Kanan books a night with Tiana after discovering she has ties to his mother, Raq.  Raq, played by Patina Miller (The Many Saints Of Newark, Hazbin Hotel), and Kanan are not on speaking terms. After a night together, Tiana eventually shares a secret about her connection to Raq and reveals her birth name.

Cooper stated that even though she is new to the series, the cast has welcomed her with open arms. She specifically cited Jackson, who is also her main scene partner. She shared some of her admiration for Miller. Power has several strong leading ladies over the series, including Naturi Naughton (Notorious, Fame), Lela Loren (Snitch, Lost), Mary J. Blige (Mudbound, Rock Of Ages), and Caroline Chikezie (The Double Deal, Mayhem).

“A lot of the women that we’ve seen so far on Power have chosen this life. I think what’s interesting about Jarita is she didn’t choose this world; this world chose it. It will be interesting to see how she maneuvers it,” she said per Deadline.