The Power Universe this year celebrated ten years since the first show aired. The tenth anniversary finds three more shows on the air and one in development. However, the first spin-off is set to end soon. Power Book II: Ghostconcludes Tariq St. Patrick’s story in Season 4. Earlier this year, Starz announced that the show would end with the fourth season, split into two parts. That decision seems ill-fated now, according to a report by Deadline. The fourth season is averaging 10.5 million multi-platform viewers per episode in the first 90 days, an all-time high for the series. The season continues to grow weekly, with the latest episode delivering a 6% audience growth ahead of the anticipated series finale.
Power has always been popular among Black viewers and households, and Power Book II: Ghost continues this trend. Episode 8 emerged as the top cable program episode among this key demographic in vital markets like Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Both two-parter premieres were the highest-rated cable programs among Black households on their premiere weekends.
Why Did Starz Cancel ‘Power Book II: Ghost’?
Viewership numbers were the most significant determinant of which shows stayed on the air and which didn’t. Different numbers are used to decide which shows to keep and cancel. Production cost is the biggest consideration currently, with seemingly popular shows being cancelled at the height of their popularity. Power Book: II Ghost falls into this category. Despite performing well, a new season would likely mandate that cast members be paid more, pushing the cost of production higher.
“When seasons go from one to two to three to four [seasons], three to four is where the cost really pops because most of the actors get bigger raises, and you have to really manage that. So, you have to have in your portfolio of development shows that can actually replace shows as they get into later seasons,” Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch told Deadline while talking about why shows were being cancelled.
The plan is to cancel relatively old shows and greenlight new shows in the same universe. “You look at the [Power] map and say, ‘Okay, if I take one of those characters out and spin one of those out, I can bring that on to replace the Power show at half the cost.’ Now I’m putting a lot of money right to the bottom line. And I’m really not losing anything in terms of acquisition costs and subscriber viewership, because we know what those demos want,” Hirsch continued. Power Book III: Raising Kanan is heading for the fourth season, while Power Book IV: Force is heading for Season 3. This may give them one or two more years on the air with Starz’s present plans. The first replacement, Power: Origins, is in the works.
Power Book II: Ghost ends in one week. Catch the penultimate episode at midnight on the Starz app.
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