‘Power': Starz Opening Writers Room On New Spinoff As ‘Origins' Development Progresses
EXCLUSIVE: Amid Starz's push to build original IP with a raft of fully owned series in development following the split from Lionsgate, the network is also staying in business with its former sister studio on the flagship Power franchise and its continuous expansion.
There is not one but two Power offshoots in the works, Deadline can reveal exclusively. The latest, which is currently untitled, comes from Gary Lennon (Power Book IV: Force) and Kendra Chapman (Power Book IV: Force), who executive produce, with Lennon also serving as showrunner. The writers room for the project, also known as Power: Legacy, is expected to open soon, sources said.
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No other details are available; however, Joseph Sikora and Michael Rainey Jr. are expected to lead the new series set in the present timeline, reprising their Power franchise roles of Tommy Egan and Tariq St. Patrick, respectively, we hear.
The new offshoot is joining the prequel series Power: Origins, set after the events of Power Book III: Raising Kanan. In development since last year, Origins follows the early years of the beloved duo of Ghost and Tommy, who were played by Omari Hardwick and Sikora in the mothership series.
Sascha Penn (Power Book III: Raising Kanan), who has been attached from the get-go as executive producer, will serve as showrunner on the prequel spinoff, whose development has progressed, with a writers' room currently open and its pickup chances looking good, we hear.
If/when Origins is greenlighted, it would mark the fourth spinoff of the Power franchise, preceded by Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, which recently aired its fourth season and has filmed a fifth and final season; and Power Book IV: Force, which has wrapped filming its third and final season, coming later this year. They all followed the mothership Power series, which ran for 6 seasons.
Power: Legacy is expected to follow the events of Force, as Ghost concluded its run last year. Essentially, this could open up a crossover for either Tommy or Tariq to travel to Chicago (Force) or New York City (Power, Power Book II: Ghost), OR somewhere completely new. Series executive producer and star Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson has previously shown interest in expanding the franchise across the pond in London, but it could honestly be set anywhere. Sikora has previously appeared in Ghost as Uncle Tommy in Seasons 1 and 3.
Penn, who created Raising Kanan, teased in a recent interview with Deadline that the conclusion of the franchise's first prequel could herald the return of Ghost and Tommy to be played by new, younger actors set in their early years.
'We're in the lab on Origins right now, and we're figuring that out and trying to see what it looks like, or what it could look like. I'm super excited about that show, and the world it opens up. Your timeline is correct. Ghost and Tommy start to appear in Kanan's life, sometime fairly soon, they're still very young during Raising Kanan,' Penn shared last month.
With the addition of Shameik Moore in the Season 4 finale of Raising Kanan as Branford 'Breeze' Frady, the nephew of street legends Snaps (Wendell Pierce) and Pop (Erika Woods), it sets up the possibility for Ghost and Tommy to appear before the screen goes dark. Ghost, Tommy, and Kanan (Jackson) were in the drug game together, with Breeze taking the trio under his wing. Ghost eventually kills Breeze in the late 90s, which later inspires Tariq to kill his father.
The Power universe expansion fits Starz's plan of keeping profit margins healthy by ending series after several seasons and launching new spinoffs.
'You look at the [Power] map and say, 'OK, 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,' CEO Jeff Hirsch said last year.
In addition to its various Power spinoffs, Starz also has the Outlander and Spartacus franchises, with prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood premiering August 8 and the Spartacus follow-up Spartacus: House of Ashur slated to debut later this year.
The Power franchise is executive produced by the mothership creator and showrunner, Courtney A. Kemp, through her production company End of Episode, Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson through G-Unit Film and Television, and Mark Canton through Canton Entertainment. Lionsgate Television is the studio.
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