Every now and again, a lucky TV show earns itself a really fucking dedicated audience who sing its praises for years, only for the rest of the world to catch on four series in. Power, a crime drama series starring and executive produced by 50 Cent, is one of these shows. I am one of the really fucking dedicated audience members.
Call it a blessing, call it four seasons too late, but in the nicest possible way this sudden jumping on the Power bandwagon is all Netflix’s fault really. Before July of this year, Power wasn’t available on everyone’s favourite streaming service yet. With its home over on the American network Starz, Power was an ‘if you know, you know’ kind of thing. But then of course, since seasons one to four made their way over to Netflix UK it’s fast become one of the most popular shows of its kind on both sides of the pond. We’re here to tell you why. Here’s everything you need to know before you dive into your next binge.
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Yes, the initial vibe of the series is a tad cheesy and everything TV buffs love to hate about your stereotypical American drama. But, patience my friends. This brief introduction to Ghost’s world barely touches the sides. Things get deep and a whole lot more dramatic. The type of dramatic that you really struggle *not *to get sucked into.
Wait, so what is Power about?
The show’s main character, James ‘Ghost’ St Patrick, is one of the biggest drug dealers in New York. He’s a bad ass. And a beautiful one at that. He and his partner in crime Tommy set up a laundry company to clean their drug money (make it look like legit cash that was honestly earned). That was fine for a while but then Ghost decided to open a club to be able to hide even more money.
Season one kicks off on the opening night of Ghost and Tommy’s club TRUTH, but as the series progresses we find out that Ghost kind of wants to straighten up, leave the drug world behind and move forward in life as a club owner. Tommy ain’t happy about it. Neither is his wife, Tasha.
Beyond that, there’s so much more drama and tension of course. And lots of sex. And drugs. And parallel storylines that are actually interesting to follow. Honest.
Is Power like Empire?
Ooh, good question. Empire was also one of the highest rated shows in the US before it hit TV screens in little old Great Britain and, yes, the vibe is pretty similar. While Empire is firmly set in the hip-hop music world and Power is less about the music and more about the drug biz, it's things like the dynamic between the lead characters and their respective wives are pretty similar. It’s the theme of power more generally, and the moral battle of how far you’ll go to reach the top/make money/protect your family that strikes the hardest, though.
How is 50 Cent involved?
Fiddy both stars and executive produces the show. He plays the character Kanan, who we were introduced to a few episodes in when his son (one of Ghost’s crew) goes to visit him in prison. Back in August, there was some minor turbulence IRL when 50 Cent threatened to take the show to a different network.
In an Instagram post that’s since been deleted, he said: ‘I woke up feeling a little different about POWER this morning. If the biggest show on your network doesn’t mean anything, what does your network mean STARZ?’. He’s always been one to blow his own trumpet, that much we know. And while it may get a little tired after a while, and you might not be 50 Cent's biggest fan, there’s must be a reason why the show has earned itself such a loyal following. I get Scandal vibes. Just saying.
Why do I recognise some of the Power cast?
So, other familiar faces include Naturi Naughton who you might recognise from the remake of Fame. She was also one-third of girl group 3LW. Joseph Sikora plays Tommy and also starred in Jack Reacher and Shutter Island. And then there’s Omari Hardwick who plays the lead – you might recognise him from Kick-Ass, The A-Team and Being Mary Jane.
Is Power going to be renewed for season 5?
Yes, it is! Even though season 4 has only recently wrapped up, we now have a teaser trailer for the next season - due to be hitting our screens in 2018.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.