Power Information

Power is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Courtney A. Kemp. It debuted on the Starz network on June 7, 2014, and has run for five seasons.

It tells the story of James St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), a ruthless drug-dealer under the nickname "Ghost", who wishes to leave the criminal world in order to support his legitimate business interests as a nightclub owner. James aims to balance these two lives, while avoiding police capture, and looks to resolve his personal life as his marriage crumbles. The show is set and filmed in New York City.

The show also features James' family, which consists of his wife Tasha (Naturi Naughton) and son, Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.). The show also stars James' partner Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora), love interest Angela Valdes (Lela Loren), and rival drug-dealer Kanan Stark (50 Cent), while introducing the characters Joe Proctor (Jerry Ferrara) and John Mak (Sung Kang) in the show's later seasons.

Upon release, Power has gained critical acclaim for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, directing, and writing. It has also become a ratings hit for Starz, regularly featuring as one of the network's most-watched cable shows. Prior to the premiere of the fifth season, Starz renewed the show for a sixth season, set to air in 2019.

Cast and characters

Main characters

• Omari Hardwick as James "Ghost" St. Patrick, a high-level drug distributor and nightclub owner. Angela's ex-boyfriend and Tasha's ex-husband.
• Joseph Sikora as Tommy Egan, Ghost's partner and life-long friend, seen as a honorary member of his family.
• Lela Loren as Angela Valdes, an Assistant United States Attorney tasked with hunting Ghost, and James' love interest.
• Naturi Naughton as Tasha St. Patrick, James' wife and criminal accomplice.
• 50 Cent as Kanan Stark, a fellow drug dealer and Ghost's former mentor.
• Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq St. Patrick, James' son who wishes to enter the drug business. He is like the son Kanan wishes he always had, and is also the twin brother to Raina.
• Shane Johnson as Cooper Saxe, a fellow attorney and Angela's colleague also assigned to the Ghost case.
• Jerry Ferrara as Joe Proctor, a criminal attorney who frequently works with Ghost and Tommy.
• Sung Kang as John Mak, a high profile attorney who leads the case against Ghost.
• La La Anthony as LaKeisha Grant, Tasha's friend, who later launders money for her and begins a relationship with Tommy.
• Rotimi Akinosho as Andre "Dre" Coleman, a low-profile street dealer who wishes to grow. He works with both Ghost and Kanan, and eventually becomes a major player under Alicia Jimnez.
• William Sadler as Tony Teresi, a prison mobster inmate who is later revealed to be Tommy's father.
• Andy Bean as Greg Knox, an F.B.I. agent assigned to the Ghost case and Angela's former love interest.
• David Fumero as Miguel "Mike" Sandoval, a dirty cop who works with Lobos and attorney assigned to the Ghost case.

Recurring characters

• Elizabeth Rodriguez as Paz, Angela's sister who maintains a dislike for James.
• Donshea Hopkins as Raina St. Patrick, James and Tasha's eldest daughter and twin sister to Tariq.
• Enrique Murciano as Felipe Lobos, an international drug supplier who works with Ghost and Tommy.
• Larenz Tate as Rashad Tate, a dirty councilman who works with James.
• Quincy Tyler Bernstine as Tameika Robinson, the leader of the United States Department of Justice.
• Victor Garber as Simon Stern, a rival nightclub owner.
• Ana de la Reguera as Alicia Jimnez, Diego's sister and one of the leaders of the Jimnz cartel.
• Patricia Kalember as Kate Egan, Tommy's mother.
• Bill Sage as Sammy, an Irish gangster who works with Tommy.
• Anika Noni Rose as Laverne "Jukebox" Ganner, a dirty cop and Kanan's cousin.
• Marcus Callender as Raymond "Ray Ray" Jones, a corrupt undercover cop, who murders Raina St. Patrick and in turn murdered by Tariq St. Patrick.
• Maurice Compte as Diego Jimnez, a rival drug supplier and one of the leaders of the Jimnez cartel.
• Lee Tergesen as Bailey Markham, another drug supplier who works solely with Tommy.

Special guest appearances

• Kendrick Lamar as Laces, a Dominican drug addict who works with Kanan.

Episodes

See List of Power episodes for more information

Broadcast

In Australia, all episodes are available to stream after their US airing on Stan. The show is available weekly after its US airing on Netflix in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In Scandinavia and Finland, all episodes are available to stream on HBO Nordic.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
2015	Women's Image Network Awards	Actress Drama Series	Naturi Naughton
		Outstanding Show Written by a Woman	Courtney A. Kemp
2016	47th NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Power
		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Omari Hardwick
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Naturi Naughton
	NAMIC Vision Awards	Best Performance - Drama	Naturi Naughton
		Best Performance - Drama	Omari Hardwick
	Women's Image Network Awards	Actress Drama Series	Naturi Naughton
2017	48th NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Power
		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Omari Hardwick
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Naturi Naughton
	Black Reel Awards for Television	Outstanding Drama Series	Power
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Premium Drama Series	Power
2018	49th NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Power
		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Omari Hardwick
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Naturi Naughton
		Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series)	Michael Rainey Jr.
	Black Reel Awards for Television	Outstanding Actor, Drama Series	Omari Hardwick
	NAMIC Vision Awards	Best Performance - Drama	50 Cent
		Best Performance - Drama	Michael Rainey Jr.
		Drama	Power

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

Season 1 of Power received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Metacritic gives the season a score of 57 out of 100, based on 15 reviews, indicating a mixed reaction to the series. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a rating of 44%, based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's consensus states, "Power suffers from excessive plotting and the use of overly familiar by-the-numbers story elements."

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter observed in his review, "Power seemingly wants to be a show that tells a big, complicated, meaningful story about, well, the perils and problems of power and how one man deals with them." The New York Daily News staff writes in their review, "Power hits on all cylinders as it returns for its second season. Throw a couple of great women into Ghost's life"?his wife, Tasha (Naturi Naughton), and his recently resurfaced lifelong flame Angela (Lela Loren)"?and you have drama that's hard not to keep watching." Critic Brian Lowry of Variety states in his review, "The three previewed episodes of the show, created by The Good Wife alumna Courtney A. Kemp, move briskly enough, but they're still only moderately compelling. And while 50 Cent's participation provides some promotional heft (he has a cameo in a later episode), the allure of such behind-the-scenes marquee names is usually limited. Mostly, this is undemanding escapism with all the requisite pay-TV trappings, along the lines of what Cinemax is offering in episodic form. While that might be a formula to keep Ghost visible for some time to come, creatively speaking, it leaves Power a touch low on juice.

Season 2

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a rating of 100%, based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. Review aggregator Metacritic gives the season a score of 75 out of 100, based on 4 reviews, indicating a generally favorable reaction to the series.