Have TV Lovers Become “Power” Hungry?

Throughout history, there have been many who are considered “power” hungry based on their craving for success and their exploits in trying to achieve it. While it may be in a different category all together, it would appear as though there are quite a few people who are currently itching for a glimpse of Power.

 

Just a few weeks ago, Power – the Starz crime-heavy drama series written by Courtney Kemp Agboh – aired its Season 1 finale, and in an ideal finale manner, left fans eager to see the opening episode of the season to come. It’s become so popular that people are now walking around and singing the words, “they say this is a big rich town” (which is from the catchy opening soundtrack done by 50 Cent and Joe) It’s certainly an indicator that TV lovers are tuned in.

 

 

The Background

 

The series stars Omari Hardwick as James “Ghost” St. Patrick, an up-and-coming nightclub owner in the city of New York. The nightclub “Truth” is doing pretty well, but Ghost is doing even better as the club is just a cover for his illegitimate operations as a top-level drug kingpin.

 

Leading a double life is not as difficult as one would imagine, especially when considering that his wife Tasha (played by Naturi Naughton) and best friend Tommy (played by Jospeh Sikora) are fully aware of what’s what – the latter being his “business” partner.

 

“Power” stars Omari Hardwick (right) as James “Ghost” St. Patrick and his best friend Tommy (played by Jospeh Sikora, left), his business partner.

 

 

A Steady Growth

 

At the onset, it’s safe to say that not many were excited about the premiere of the series. The fact that rapper/actor/producer/(his many other ventures) Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson was playing a role in the production of show did manage to attract a few, but with a relatively unknown cast there wasn’t much else being said.

 

Premiering back in June, the series opener managed to attract just about half a million viewers. As the weeks and the story line progressed, however, so did the number of viewers.  It grew steadily before making a huge jump from an estimated .75 million to almost 1.1 million between Episode 7 and Episode 8 (the finale). A far cry from the series’ sub-par opening, the series reportedly closed with an approximate 2.5 million viewers to record the largest number of viewers for a season finale since the highly-popular Spartacus: War of the Damned over a year ago.

 

 

What They’re Eager For

 

There were quite a few twists that developed towards the back end of the season, and the Power-hungry nation is certainly eager to see where those twists lead. One of the more intriguing is to see what becomes of Ghost’s and Tasha’s marriage. She found out about his affair with Angela Valdez (played by Lela Loren) – his “first love”, “the one that got away”, (insert the other applicable clichés) – and all but told him that she knew about it.

 

His wife Tasha (Naturi Naughton) knows about his affair.

 

 

While that was a twist, Tommy then found out that Angela was actually a rising star in the District Attorney’s office, (unknowingly) gunning to take down the very organization that he and Ghost were operating. The conversation of what she does never came up – as far as Ghost knows she simply has a busy job with a demanding boss, and as far as she knows he is just running the nightclub.

 

The final twist to be mentioned (can’t spill all the secrets) is that Mr. 50 Cent seems likely to have a more prominent role in the series. Only referred to as Canan, he is portrayed as the man who taught Ghost and Tommy a lot about the business, but he was behind bars – emphasis on was. He has somehow managed an early release, and instead of coming out to help establish their developing drug dealing empire, he has been wielding his influence and contacts from prison to take control of it.

 

 

Satirical News Further Highlights Impact

 

For those who prefer to assess a show based on word of mouth (or over cyber space as is more prevalent today), then recent satirical releases provide additional insight into the show’s popularity. The releases staked the claim that the Starz series was not going to be renewed for a second season – not now anyway – as 50 Cent was to be unavailable as a result of an upcoming tour with members of G-Unit.

 

The news about “Power’s” cancellation due to 50 Cent’s tour with G-Unit was nothing more than a hoax.

 

Within a few hours many caught wind of the story, taking to the social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to voice their disappointment, or in some cases even chastise 50 Cent and question his commitment and loyalty to the project. Though the dust eventually settled as people came to the realization that it was nothing more than a hoax, anyone associated with the project would certainly have been pleased to see the uproar the articles generated.

 

 

The “Truth” is…

 

Unlike the club that was pretty much closed down at the end of the season finale, Starz has already approved Season 2 of this intriguing crime drama. Upping the ante somewhat, the series will air a total of 10 episodes in comparison to the eight that viewers were able to watch during the debut season.

 

 

Have TV Lovers Become “Power” Hungry?