Power Book II: Ghost will end with its fourth season in 2024, marking the end of Tariq St. Patrick’s journey played by Michael Rainey Jr. Multiple sources revealed the cancellation on Thursday (March 14) after Starz CEO made a statement about containing content costs with a slate of new shows in development as later season series get costly.
“When seasons go from one to two to three to four [seasons], three to four is where the cost really pops because most of the actors get bigger raises, and you have to really manage that,” said Jeff Hirsch, Starz CEO at Deutsche Bank media conference on March 12. “So, you have to have in your portfolio of development shows that can actually replace shows as they get into later seasons.”
Power Book II: Ghost follows the dual life of Tariq, the son of New York drug kingpin-turned-nightclub owner James St. Partick, known in the streets as Ghost. The series starred an all-star cast that included Mary J. Blige, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, and Lanez Tate. Season 3 of Ghost premiered in May 2023 to Starz’s Biggest Premiere Weekend With 5.8 Million Viewers.
Michael Rainey Jr told fans he was blindsided by the news and 50 Cent responded to him with an Instagram post, captioned: “Yeah because @MichaelRaineyJr doesn’t answer his phone.”
Season 4 will be broken into two parts, premiering June 7 and September 6. Hirsch referred to Power Universe as an example of the company’s new cost-cutting containment. He explained:
“You look at the [Power] map and say, ‘OK, if I take one of those characters out and spin one of those out, I can bring that on to replace the Power show at half the cost.’ Now I’m putting a lot of money right to the bottom line. And I’m really not losing anything in terms of acquisition costs and subscriber viewership, because we know what those demos want. And we know how to line those up. And so that’s really the core of getting to that 20% [margin] — turning that slate over with fresh content to drive the business.”
The cancellation news follows the announcement of a new Power prequel and season four of BMF. Power: Origins, the new prequel series in the Power Universe, will follow the uprising of Tommy Egan and James St. Patrick, also known as Ghost.
Season 3 of Ghost left the story on a cliffhanger after Tariq and Brayden escaped the clutches of the season’s villain, Noma (Caroline Chikezie). Season 4 is promised to go out with a bang says executives.
“This explosive season of Ghost is a fitting crescendo in a decade of an immensely popular franchise — fans will not be disappointed,” Kathryn Busby, President of Programming at Starz, said in a statement. “While this marks the conclusion of one chapter, our commitment to the Power Universe endures with more compelling storytelling on the horizon.”