Power Book III: Raising Kanan

Power Book III: Raising Kanan is a Starz crime drama and the second spin-off from the Power franchise. Created by Sascha Penn, it travels back to South Jamaica, Queens, in 1991, long before Kanan Stark became the feared figure played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the original Power. Mekai Curtis plays the teenage Kanan, while Jackson serves as an executive producer and narrates the series as Kanan’s older self, framing the story as a look at the choices and family pressures that shaped him. The first season centers on Kanan’s relationship with his mother, Raquel “Raq” Thomas, portrayed by Patina Miller. Raq runs a drug operation with her brothers Marvin and Lou-Lou, played by London Brown and Malcolm Mays. Though she wants Kanan to pursue a future beyond the business, her own actions repeatedly draw him closer to it. A key early storyline involves Kanan’s friendship with Davina Harrison and his involvement in attempted killing of rival dealer Buck Twenty; the consequences expose how little control he has over the violence surrounding Raq’s organization. Raising Kanan also builds its period setting through 1990s New York music, fashion, neighborhood politics, and the crack-era drug trade. Hailey Kilgore plays Jukebox, Kanan’s sharp, music-loving cousin, years before the adult character appears in Power. Omar Epps joined the main cast as detective Malcolm Howard, whose connection to Kanan becomes one of the show’s central family revelations. Joey Bada$$ portrays Unique, a stylish rival dealer whose shifting relationship with Raq moves from conflict to uneasy cooperation. After its July 18, 2021 premiere, the series continued to expand the Thomas family’s internal conflicts. Season two follows the fallout from Raq’s decisions and Kanan’s growing distrust of her. Season three, which premiered on December 1, 2023, places Kanan and Raq in a more openly fractured relationship while new threats, including Stefano Marchetti and the return of Unique, reshape the Queens underworld. The show was renewed for a fourth season before the third season debuted. Rather than simply retelling Power, Raising Kanan uses its prequel status to complicate the mythology. Viewers know Kanan will eventually become a major Power antagonist, mentor to James “Ghost” St. Patrick and Tommy Egan, but the prequel concentrates on the years in which he is still learning whom to trust. Its focus on Raq makes the origin story equally about a mother protecting her empire and a son recognizing its enormous cost.