Starz is planning to release four separate spinoff series for their tentpole franchise Power, as reported by Variety. The first spinoff titled Power Book II: Ghost will release on September 4th, with the others entering production sometime after.
The move to expand power is considered by many to be unexpected, considering the fact that the original series averaged over 10 million viewers per an episode in multiplatform viewing in its final two seasons. The show was also hailed as the No. 1 series in premium cable for Black viewers, with 73% of the household audience being African American.
Stars President and CEO Jeffrey Hirsh identified the series as the highest generator of subscriptions and retention for Starz, topping even Outlander. Hirsh told Variety that “Power and the Power universe is probably the most important franchise to the company. It’s one of the key foundations of our programming strategy, and it’s given us a lot of data on how to put other shows around it on the network”
Series executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Get Rich or Die Trying) calls the move to expand the world of Power natural, given the fact that the drug trade business that the series dramatizes never ends despite losing high-level characters. In a statement made via Variety, he said “I tried to convince the network that the Power universe was like Marvel, it’s not something that you can just doone time. In the lifestyle you see in the first show, when someone is taken away or someone is killed, there’s always someone to fill those shoes. There’s always a new prospect, so the show can continue to grow.”
Along with the release of Ghost, which will be set just days after the end of the first series, Starz is also in development of Power book III: Raising Kanan, a prequel set in the early years of Kanan Stark, originally played by 50 Cent. They also already commissioned Power Book IV: Influence, which will follow Rashad Tate; and Power Book V: Force, which will be centered around Power character Tommy Egan.