The CEO of Starz provided some insight into why Power Book II: Ghost is ending.
Power Book II, a spin-off to the popular Power, follows Michael Rainey Jr.’s Tariq St. Patrick, the twenty-something son of James St. Patrick and the protagonist of the mothership series.
Book II and its extensive cast are now in its fourth season, and Tariq is grappling with his father's legacy while operating his own drug trafficking business.
The Reason Why Starz Is Ending Power Book 2
Jeff Hirsch, the CEO of Starz (the home network of the Power franchise), explained to Deadline in great detail why the decision was made to wrap things up on Power Book II: Ghost.
According to the exec, Power Book II is calling it quits as a cost-cutting measure. In short, the series became too costly for the network to sustain:
“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. So, you have to have in your portfolio of development shows that can actually replace shows as they get into later seasons.”
Hirsch explained that one of the network’s priorities is to “map out each of these shows” to determine when to let a series keep running or axe it in favor of something cheaper to produce:
“As you turn the slate over to go from season four and five economics, to season one economics, you can pull a ton of cost out of the business. What you have to do is map out each of those shows and … what the curve looks like, and know where you have to pop a new show on to bring that cost down. And so we’ve got a pretty good map of what that looks like. Because again, we focus on those two core demos, we’ve been able to manufacture hits for those demos.”
The CEO concluded by discussing the nitty-gritty of television financial management. According to Hirsch, Starz can “take one of those characters out and spin one of those out.” In other words, creating spin-offs of existing characters is more cost-effective in the long run.
“You look at the ‘Power’ map and say, ‘Okay, 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.”
While no release date for Book II's series final has been officially revealed, it's expected to come in October 2024 (read more about Power Book ll's remaining release schedule).
However, the Power franchise isn’t going anywhere and is far from over: Starz still has Book III: Raising Kanan -Raising Kanan Season 4 is widely believed to air in 2025 - and Book IV: Force left in the bullpen. Also, in March 2024, Starz green-lit Power: Origins, a prequel series.
Jeff Hirsh’s comments on this matter are informative and slightly blunt. The fact that whether a popular series lives or dies boils down to a numbers game is undeniably frustrating for fans. Alas, such is the nature of the business.
Nonetheless, Power Book II’s lead, Michael Rainey Jr., expressed satisfaction over his show’s conclusion to CNET. The actor, who has played Tariq for a decade, noted that the ending he envisioned for his character Tariq was the one that wound up happening:
"I don't know. I think this is the way I would've wanted Tariq's story to end. I don't think I would've written it any other way. I feel like there's no other way they could've done it."
The Power Universe has existed for 10 years and isn’t slowing down. The universe should flourish as long as viewers continue to turn in.
Power Book II: Ghost airs on Starz, with the next episode arriving on Friday, September 13. The series is also streaming on the Starz app.
