Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ On Starz, A ‘Power Universe’ Prequel About The Early Days Of Kanan Stark

Now that we’ve begun diving into the Power sequels that Starz has ordered, we’re now deep into what is being called the Power Universe. First there was a sequel (Power Book II: Ghost) where the influence of Ghost was a big presence. Power Book III concentrates on Ghost’s mentor Kanan Stark, only we go back to 1991 when Kanan was 15 and wanted to get involved in the family business.

POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “1985.” A shot of the southside of Queens while old-school rap plays. “Y’all seen how my last fight ended,” says the now-dead Kanan Stark (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson). “This fight here, is how my first fight started.”

The Gist: Nine year-old Kanan (Joshua Maurice Johnson) is getting beaten by the neighborhood’s resident bully, and Kanan runs home crying. His mother, Raquel “Raq” Thomas (Patina Miller), loads a sock full of Hot Wheels cars and takes Kanan back to the park; she watches while he wallops the bully and his buddy with the sock.

Cut to 1991. Fifteen year-old Kanan (Mekai Curtis) is a top student at Queens Arts & Science High School; his guidance counselor signed him up for the entry test for the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan. Raq wants Kanan to take that test, feeling that he could become “a CEO or some shit. You’re about to live a life that people around here only dream about.” Kanan isn’t so sure.

He likes his friends, among them is his cousin LaVerne “Jukebox” Ganner (Hailey Kilgore), who has an angelic voice but is tough as nails; his buddy Shawn “Famous” Figueroa (Antonio Ortiz); and Davina Harrison (Lovie Simone), whom he’s had a crush on since 2nd grade. She’s dating Buck Twenty (Donte Grey), who is working corners for Kadeem “Unique” Mathis (Joey Bada$$), who is pushing in on Raq’s territory in South Jamaica.

Yes, Raq is a coke dealer, and a good one at that; she’s in business with her younger brother Lou-Lou (Malcom M. Mays), who is her “right hand up in this motherfucker,” and older brother Marvin (London Brown), who “never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” Unique’s crew just ambushed one of Raq’s corner guys, and is threatening to start a war over the territory.

After Unique’s crew fires warning shots at the family outside their weekly diner gathering spot, Raq summits with Unique; the deal she had with his older brother before he went to prison for life are no longer valid. They make a deal, but in that deal Unique takes one of her corners.

Kanan takes the entrance exam for Stuyvesant, but decides to make all the answers “B” because he wants to stay and help his mom. Raq thinks that, if she talks in code with her brothers that Kanan has no idea what she does. But Kanan’s a smart kid; he knows what she does for a living and he wants in. And when he sees Buck Twenty dealing on what he thinks is his mom’s corner, he and his friends take matters into their own hands.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Since this connects into the Power Universe, Power Book III: Raising Kanan feels like its parent show, but the early ’90s period brings to mind films like Boyz N The Hood.

Our Take: Power Book III: Raising Kanan, created and written by Sascha Penn (Power creator Courtney A. Kemp is also credited) is a show that stands well on its own, whether you’ve been a fan of Power since its debut in 2014 or are just coming to this show with no knowledge of the Power Universe. Unlike Power Book II: Ghost, there are few hooks in this prequel that will make you scramble to Wikipedia to figure out exactly what is happening.

Penn and his writers have taken the show’s first hour and created an engaging world around young Kanan, managing to somehow replicate the South Jamaica area in the early ’90s, immediately showing it as a small town in the big city, where people know each other and their reputations. What we get from the first hour is that Raq is an honorable woman in a dishonorable profession, willing to negotiate and compromise in order to keep the peace. But she has to contend with dealers like Unique, who want to break all the gentlemen’s agreements she’s had with his brother and take over all of South Jamaica.

Even if you don’t know Kanan’s story on the original series — he was mentor to Ghost and Tommy, who didn’t make it to the end of Season 5 — watching teenage Kanan rise in his mother’s business will be an interesting story to take in. Miller and Curtis work well together, and the family vibe that we see between Kanan, his cousin Jukebox, his uncles and his mom is one of the best things about the first episode.

We are also appreciative of some of the side stories that were introduced, like Jukebox exploring her sexuality; in a scene where she goes to meet a girl she likes outside of her private school, you can see Kilgore’s nervousness when the girl tries to kiss her. It seems that Kanan knows about Jukebox’s penchant to date white girls, but that nervousness conveys that Jukebox is taking a plunge that she hasn’t taken before.

We’re not sure where the side story about Raq dating strip club bartender Symphony Bosket (Toby Sanderman) will go; he has ambitions beyond slinging drinks, and it seems that Raq is intrigued by him, even if their date is interrupted by business. There’s also the matter of Famous’ sister Jessica (Natalee Linez) getting involved in Lou-Lou, and the fact that NYPD detectives Malcolm Howard (Omar Epps) and Shannon Burke (Shanley Caswell) are sniffing around.

There’s a whole lot of characters to keep track of, but that’s how the Power Universe works. Let’s just hope that there’s enough story to go around.

Sex and Skin: The “publicist” for the strip club owner is having sex with that owner when she finds out what happens if you decide to break your agreement with Raq and get your coke from someone else.

Parting Shot: Raq takes Kanan out to an abandoned lot near the river, hands him a gun, and they start shooting into the darkness. “This is my story. This is the southside Jamaica, Queens story,” says the adult Kanan.

Sleeper Star: We’ve already praised Hailey Kilgore, but we like how Jukebox seems to be the only person in Kanan’s life to talk sense into him, and they have each other’s backs. But her story is almost as fascinating as Kanan’s.

Most Pilot-y Line: We’re hoping that 50 Cent’s voice over is just for the first episode. It was fine to help set up the story. But it was also weird because, well, his character is dead.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Power Book III: Raising Kanan is a prequel that not only captures a particular place at a particular time but also builds a world that can quickly help the show stand alone from its parent series.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream Power Book III: Raising Kanan On Starz