Power has come to occupy a key place in the Starz lineup, and the fifth season changed the series forever thanks to the death of a major character. The sixth season could be even more intense than those that came before. Star and executive producer 50 Cent recently addressed why Power ended up at Starz and why the network continues to be a good fit for his series, saying this:
Well, particularly the premium cable space with Starz is the place for me because of how graphic our culture is becoming. When I say that it's youth culture, music culture, hip-hop, things are a little different now. At one point, to give you an example, I would write a song and I would say, 'I'll take you to the candy shop.' It was graphic at the point that we were releasing that actual song. But now, female solo artists are using lines like, 'You gotta eat the booty like groceries.' Yeah, so now in this climate you have to make adjustments. You have to figure out, 'Now, what am I gonna say for shock value if I gotta eat the booty like groceries?'
According to 50 Cent, premium cable was the place to be for a show like Power, and I imagine most fans would agree with him. Power isn't really a show where the characters can say "Gosh darn you!" and fail to follow through on violent threats. If the show was going to reflect the culture 50 Cent wanted reflected and be truly impactful for viewers, it needed to be free of the kind of limits that would be placed on basic cable and broadcast television. Enter Starz!
50 Cent has evidently been so satisfied with the Starz collaboration that he's willing to continue the partnership. Back in October, the actor/producer signed an exclusive multi-series deal (worth up to $150 million) with the network for the development of content. A bunch of Power spinoffs are in the works, including a prequel set to star 50 Cent as his Power character.
That spinoff news had to be a big relief for fans of his character, as Kanan was killed off in Season 5. 50 Cent will be hard at work at Starz, whenever he's not pranking Ja Rule or getting himself into hot water online!
He certainly has a point about the changing standards for what is deemed acceptable in society nowadays. Just as his lyrics that were controversial decades ago would not be a big deal in 2018, the violence of Power that would be unheard of on the small screen years ago fits right in for recent years. If Power didn't keep up with the times, it might not have worked.
50 Cent also spoke at Business Insider's Ignition Conference to say this about individual episodes of Power:
The actual series Power is having the ability to create 10 R-rated feature films. Each episode is a connected episode but it's R-rated quality.
Although Power is certainly no anthology series comprised of standalones, its episodes can almost be considered mini movies comprising one big franchise. Episodes have impressive scope and scale, and stories definitely would earn an R-rating. Thankfully, its placement at Starz guarantees that Power can cross a lot of lines and deliver as graphic of plots as necessary.
No premiere date for Power Season 6 (or the Kanan-centric prequel) has released so far, but considering the summer releases of the first five seasons, I'd say the odds are pretty good that we're looking at June or July for the sixth season. For some viewing options sooner than the summer, swing by our midseason TV premiere schedule.
