Power had six seasons to develop its violent world. The series gained 3 spin-offs set in the same world. Here is how they all relate to each other.
Creating unique worlds composed of multiple series on the small screen has become a well-known practice once a television series becomes successful. Back in 2014, the show Power premiered. A drama story focusing on the drug and crime world in The Big Apple with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as an executive producer and a part of the cast and created by Courtney Kemp Agboh. Courtney isn’t unfamiliar with the criminal world, as she was a writer in The Good Wife.
After six seasons, it was announced that the beloved crime show would end. However, there was plenty of good news: it would receive various spin-offs. Since then, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force were released, bringing back beloved characters. With so many spin-offs, it can become confusing to new fans (and even old ones) to know how they connect and the chronological order of the events. Here is how each series relate to each other.
Power
The original series aired from 2014 until 2020. Regarding this universe timeline, Power chronologically comes after Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Power tells the story of James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), a successful businessman who owns a luxurious nightclub, Truth. He also has a side job (which he is just as successful in) that may consume him: he is a coke distributor to New York’s elite. However, Ghost wants to live a legitimate life, and finds that his club might help him do it, but there are only two ways of getting out, as fans of the show know quite well: jail or death.
On Season 5, the series had 1.47 million viewers, becoming the largest on-air debut for a premium cable show that summer, surpassing Big Little Lies. The first episode of Season 6 was the second most-watched cable drama of the year, losing the first spot to none other than Game of Thrones.
However, when the first season premiered, the series didn’t get any critical acclaim. But, as Jackson said, “That’s the excitement of Power. We showed people that there are repercussions for your actions, your behavior, and the choices that you make in your life. And those choices will leave you somewhere else.” And that is one of the reasons why the show is popular and big enough for its own universe.
Power Book II: Ghost
Power Book II: Ghost is a direct sequel to the original series that centers around Ghost’s son, Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.). The series picks up right after the ending of Power. In college, Tariq lives a lifestyle that combined with his family needs he can’t afford, and drug dealing, which he started doing in the latter seasons of Power, is the solution.
Tariq wasn’t the most popular character to be the next protagonist on this universe, as he developed and became one of the main antagonists in Power. He must cope with his actions in the finale of the original show, which was called “saddest ending of a television show ever” by the creator of the series. Power Book II: Ghost premiered in 2021 and was the first spin-off to air.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan
Power Book III: Raising Kanan is a standalone prequel to Power. The series focuses on Ghost and Tommy’s mentor, Kanan Stark’s coming-of-age story. Kanan, played by none other than 50 Cent in the original show, is an important character in Power. The story is set in 1991, when Kanan (Mekai Curtis) is fifteen years old and his mother, Raquel (Patina Miller), distributes cocaine in a promising upcoming distributors network in New York.
Since it is a prequel, there’s no need to watch it in the order it was released. But because it shows the backstory of the characters, many advise watching it after finishing at least the original Power series so that the viewer is familiar with the characters mentioned and shown.
Power Book IV: Force
Power Book IV: Force focuses on Ghost’s right-hand man, Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora). Tommy was one of the most important characters in Power, but a minor one in Ghost. This is also a sequel, and as Tommy is a big character in Power, the original series should be watched before watching Force.
The viewer could start by watching Force because there is important information and backstory found that directly provides information about the series and characters. Changing locations for the first time in this universe, Tommy leaves the city that never sleeps and decides to move to California but ends up making a quick stop in troublesome Chicago. He discovers things about his family, as well as who runs the drug underworld, and decides to stay. There, he wants to build his own drug empire. This was the latest spin-off series to premiere.
Power Book V: Influence
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The fifth installment of this world and fourth spin-off would center around politician Rashad Tate (Larenz Tate) and be called Power Book V: Influence. Unfortunately, the series was canceled in August 2022. This was supposed to be the fourth book in the series, but Force premiered in its place. There hasn’t been any announcement regarding if the television universe will have another spin-off series.
Nevertheless, Ghost, Raising Kanan, and Force were renewed. The latest season of Force premiered on September 1st and the fourth year of the second show of this universe, Ghost, premiered on September 6th. The third season of Raising Kanan will premiere on December 1st.
