‘Power’ Universe Creator Courtney Kemp Revealed How Long It Takes to Create a Season of a Show
Starz’s Power Universe is only getting bigger. The shows have a massive and loyal audience who are eager to tune into the various shows that connect us to the world that we were first introduced to in the original series. Power followed James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), a notorious drug kingpin eager to leave his life of crime behind to become a legit businessman.
Since the end of Power, several more spinoffs have debuted. Now the Power Universe creator is giving fans a breakdown of how long it takes to make a season of a show.
Inside the ‘Power’ Universe spinoffs
Power ended after six seasons, but the legacy of the series has continued with various spinoffs. Power Book II: Ghost centers on college student Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.). Following his father, Ghost’s murder, Tariq is juggling his life on campus with his role as a drug dealer working for the Tejada crime family.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan is set in 1991 in Queens. The show follows 15-year-old Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis) in the role that Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson made famous in Power. It’s an origin story that chronicles Kanan’s family life, his mother Raquel “Raq” Thomas’ drug organization, and his teen years.
Power Book IV: Force is set in Chicago and follows Tommy’s life following Ghost’s death as he tries to make a name for himself in a new city. Finally, Power Book V: Influence will chronicle dirty NYC councilman Rashad Tate’s (Larenz Tate) race to the governor’s mansion.
Courtney Kemp revealed how long it takes to create one season of a ‘Power’ show
The original Power aired for six seasons before the debut of Power Book II: Ghost, which centers on Ghost’s son Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.). There is also Power Book III: Raising Kanan, which is set in the ’90s and follows the teen years of Ghost’s mentor Kanan Stark (portrayed here by Mekai Curtis).
Power Book IV: Force, which follows Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) in the aftermath of Power just aired and there is still the forthcoming Power Book V: Influence which will center councilman Rashad Tate’s (Larenz Tate) race to the governer’s mansion.
But getting these shows to the air is no small feat. In fact, Kemp says it takes about a year for a single season of a Power show to be created. On a recent Instagram Live, she explained the structure of the story. “[Filming] is 25-30 weeks a lot of back and forth, production process,” she explained. “The [writer’s] room structure is five weeks; what do we owe the audience an breaking the ideas out into character arcs.”
Starz initially tried to air ‘Power’ on Saturdays
When Power Book IV: Force aired on Feb. 6, 2022, it became the highest-rated series debut on the Starz network ever. As we know now, the original series and its various spinoffs have been huge shows for Starz. However, before Power’s debut in 2014, the network was trying to have it air on Saturdays.
For fans who might not know, Saturdays, are one of the worst nights to air a TV show aside from Friday night. 50 Cent rejected the idea immediately and fought for a valuable Sunday slot.
“Originally, we were going to be airing on Saturday nights,” 50 Cent told Insider in 2018. “I was like, Sunday night is TV night,” Jackson said. “Saturday is your go-out night. Sunday, you’re rebooting. So, you might want to stay home and watch television.”
Now the Power Universe has expanded in ways that no one could have ever foreseen.
