A new Power. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is ready to show the world the Power spinoff, Book II: Ghost — and hopes fans know that the new show is very different than the original.
“The pacing is very similar, so it doesn’t lose the energy or the thing that people were attracted to about Power, but the difference is the two worlds Tariq is going through — between the university and the street,” 50 Cent, who serves as an executive producer on the drama, told Us Weekly exclusively during a virtual junket. He noted that Tariq (portrayed by Power alum Michael Rainey Jr.) will have a “similar arc” to the one his father, Ghost, went through.
“It’s very similar but then very different. The new characters that blossom are exciting,” the rapper, 45, added. “I think a huge demographic of people that will be reached through them. I kind of feel like there’s a possibility for us to go up in viewership with Mary [J. Blige] and these new people coming onto the show.”
A younger audience will likely “see themselves in the characters” more than they did on Power as well. The show picks up shortly after Ghost’s death as Tariq grapples with a whole new life with his mother Tasha (Naturi Naughton) facing charges for the murder. However, life on his own isn’t what Tariq thought it’d be so he’s forced to split his time between school and finding a way to make money … ie., entering the drug game.
Another thing that will stay the same is that “Big Rich Town,” the Power theme song will also be the spinoff’s theme song. “They didn’t change the theme song to Sanford and Son, so no reason to change the theme song,” 50 said with a laugh, noting that he will also be sprinkling some of his own music in the new show.
“I’m writing some material to put out, I just release pieces,” he added. “The thing is they have it be up to standard so they fill in the hole. The last place that they spend the money in the budget is for the music. I won’t allow them to put a filler in. I’m like, ‘Who’s that? Nobody knows who it is, and nobody will buy that on iTunes right now. So that should not be on my TV show.’ So I give them extra stuff laying around that I can put into those moments.”
For more from 50 Cent, watch our exclusive video above.
Power Book II: Ghost premieres on Starz Sunday, September 6, at 9 p.m. ET.
