POWER BOOK II: GHOST: WHEN THE AFTER PARTY ISN’T AS LIT AS YOU THOUGH IT WOULD BE

Power Book II: Ghost is an American Crime Drama Television Series created by Courtney A. Kemp. It functions as an episodic sequel to Power, and is about Tariq St. Patrick struggling to navigate his new life, as he tries to shed his father's legacy and save his family. Along the way, Tariq gets entangled in the affairs of the cutthroat Tejada family, adding further complications as he tries to balance his drug operations with his education, love life, family affairs, and mounting pressure from Law Enforcement.

The show also features Michael Rainey Jr., Shane Johnson, Gianni Paolo, Melanie Liburd, Lovell Adams-Gray, Daniel Bellomy, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Paige Hurd, Woody McClain, Justin Marcel McManus, Method Man, LaToya Tonodeo, Naturi Naughton, Mary J. Blige and Larenz Tate. The show doesn’t currently have a rating on Rotten Tomatoes (which seems strange given the show is wrapping up its third season) but it does have an Audience Score of 76%. The show is also scoreless on Metacritic, but it has a User Score of 5.8, and a 7.4/10 on IMDB (based on over 9,000 reviews).

Power is indeed one of the best urban crime dramas I’ve ever see. Power Book II is not that. This show suffers from a few problems, chief among them the casting of Michael Rainey Jr as the lead in a television series. I don’t mean to come down hard on the young man as I’m sure he works hard at his craft, and I understand why Courtney Kemp had to have him reprise his role from Power, but he wasn’t ready for the top spot just yet. This show was made in a misguided attempt to continue a story that had already run its course. I also ask myself if this show had been made as a standalone, would Rainey have been cast in this role? I don’t think so, because he doesn’t look the part. He never did, but it was okay for him to play a supporting role as the angry teenager vacillating between right and wrong, all while wearing his kool-aid pumping heart on his sleeve. I could even see him as the semi street-wise college kid slinging a few pills out of his dorm room on the low. But at this point, he’s killed three people in cold blood, and gotten another seven killed through his actions, and for me, that just doesn’t add up.

The story doesn’t really work here either, with several problem areas. And the writing here was a bit more volatile than it was in the original show, and in Power Book II there aren’t as many seasoned actors (in prominent roles) to make up for it. There are also character arcs that don’t add up, and the acting is not up to the standard of the original show, mainly because most of the older actors either died in the original show or have been relegated to background characters, leaving the show to be led by a group of less experienced performers.

Power Book II is essentially Power, seasons 7-9, with its main character dying at the end of season 6. It was a way for the STARZ network to continue enjoying the popularity of Power, but there’s a big problem with this strategy. Most television shows don’t have the premise or the viewership to last nine years, which is what Courtney Kemp is trying to accomplish by flipping Power into Power Book II, but the plot holes from both shows are starting to show. I know this is a popular show, boasting fairly decent viewership numbers over its first three seasons, but just because people watch a show doesn’t mean it’s a good one, and from what I’ve seen so far, it’s only a matter of time before the “big rich town” of New York City is turned into a big top circus.

Power Book II: Ghost is available on the STARZ Network (and App) with subscription. It’s also available on HULU, Sling TV, Philo , YouTube TV, YouTube , Amazon Prime Video (with subscription). You can also find it on Redbox, Apple TV, Google Play Movies and Vudu (for $1.99 per Episode)