The late Charlie Murphy (who passed away on April 12), as well as Larenz Tate and “Hamilton” star Brandon Victor Dixon, are all new members of the cast of Starz’s hit drama series “Power” for its upcoming 4th season, which returns this summer.
Season 4 will open with “Ghost” behind bars, following his highly publicized arrest by his ex-girlfriend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Valdes, for the murder of FBI Agent Greg Knox – a crime he did not commit. Ghost can’t outrun his past choices and mounting enemies this season, which threaten his freedom and his family’s safety at every turn. His fight for redemption brings him face-to-face with the Feds, the media, new allies, and old foes. But the biggest obstacle for Ghost remains himself and his internal struggle between the man he wants to be and the one he really is.
From Executive Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and show creator Courtney A. Kemp, the “Power” cast is led by Hardwick as drug kingpin and nightclub impresario James “Ghost” St. Patrick; Joseph Sikora, as his brother in arms in the drug business, Tommy Egan; Naturi Naughton plays James’ fierce, loyal wife Tasha St. Patrick; and Lela Loren as his first love Assistant U.S. Attorney, Angela Valdes.
“Power” season three was the most-watched Starz original series ever, with a record of 7.1M viewers across all platforms and counting. The #1 original Starz drama also ranked #1 among all weekend cable programs for African American viewers during the 3rd season during the summer of 2016.
The series has been a strong performer for Starz, defying gravity and only getting stronger from season to season. Just take a look at the growth in viewership from its first to its 3rd season in the comparison image below:
It kicked off its first season with just over 500,000 live viewers; and by the end of season 3, that figure had grown 4-fold to just north of 2 million live viewers. That’s excellent, and maybe not talked about enough. Typically, a new series will either continue to draw similar numbers during successive seasons, or interest will gradually fade, and live viewership will decline over time. It’s not often that a series grows 4-fold in viewership in 3 seasons.
Needless to say, anticipation for season 4 of “Power” is high. What continues to elude the series however is critical acclaim by way of top TV industry awards like the Emmys, SAG or Golden Globes to name 3. But whether that’s of concern for the show’s producers and/or the network we can’t say. Obviously a hit series that comes with awards recognition is desirable; but just having a hit series in the current climate of “peak TV” and numerous other distractions, is its own achievement.
Season 4’s premiere date hasn’t been announced yet.
Starz has released a tense first clip from episode 1 of the upcoming season which is embedded below:
