‘Power Book II: Ghost’: Why Laz Alonso Is No Longer on the Show
Creator and showrunner Courtney Kemp has revealed why Laz Alonso is no longer on Power Book II: Ghost. The show, a spinoff of the 2014 series Power, launched in 2020 and follows Michael Rainey Jr.’s Tariq St. Patrick in the aftermath of his father’s murder by his own hand. It has a star-studded cast that featured Alonso in its first season as Detective Samuel Santana. But apparently, his schedule allegedly became a problem.
Inside Laz Alonso’s exit from ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
Kemp spoke about Alonso’s absence on Instagram Live. She was participating in a Q&A session with fans when she was asked what happened to Alonso’s character, who first showed up to investigate the death of the GTG member who was murdered in the pool at Stansfield University. Kemp responded that she’d hoped to get him back for Power Book II: Ghost Season 2 but said Alonso was allegedly too busy filming The Boys.
Created by Eric Kripke, The Boys is a superhero series that, according to IMDb, follows “a group of vigilantes” who “set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.” It premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2019 and has since become a top series, scoring an impressive 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
It’s unclear whether Alonso will ever be back as Detective Santana, but Kemp lives by the motto that, if a character isn’t dead, there’s a chance that viewers can see them again.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet reached out to representatives of Alonso for further comment on his exit from the Starz series but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The latest season of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
In the latest season of Power Book II: Ghost, viewers have watched Tariq try to prevent police from discovering his and Cane Tejada’s roles in the murder of Jabari Reynolds, his professor who had been blackmailing Tariq into letting him write a book about his life. Tariq attempted to cover up his murder, but the truth about what happened to Jabari is slowly coming to light, leaving Tariq scrambling to come up with another plan.
This season features, as usual, Rainey, Mary J. Blige (Monet Tejada), Method Man (Davis MacLean), Woody McClain (Cane Tejada), Paige Hurd (Lauren Baldwin), Shane Johnson (Cooper Saxe), and Larenz Tate (Rashad Tate), among others. But it has also introduced new faces, including rapper Redman, who plays Davis’ incarcerated brother Theo.
Stream the series now on Starz
Fans can find Power Book II: Ghost on Starz at 8 p.m. ET every Sunday. This season will run until Feb. 6 — the same day that Starz unveils the fourth chapter, Power Book IV: Force. Starring Joseph Sikora, the show follows gangster Tommy Egan in the days after Ghost’s death. It’ll also air at the same time on Sundays.
