Making its premier last year, Power became a sleeper hit. The crime drama starring and produced by 50 Cent couldn’t have made better use of the normally barren nine o’clock Saturday timeslot. For most networks, it’s a safe and “wait and see” move. Power’s first season managed to tally in 2.8 million by the time it ended last year. Those who’ve watched the show from beginning to present understand how bumpy the first go-around became. Despite well-above average performances from the four leads including Omari Hardwick(Ghost), Naturi Naughton (Tasha), Lela Loren (Angela) and Joseph Sikora (Tommy), the narrative structure felt a little haphazard at times. Besides pacing issues, the romantic subplots revolving around Ghost, his wife and high school love turned federal agent really didn’t mesh well with the meat of the story. Things got really ridiculous once Fiddy’s villainous character Kanan fell into the picture. Critics agreed as well as season one of Power sits at a 57 percent Metacritic score. Regardless, being a success within itself, Starz finally had an hour long drama that could possibly compete with competitors HBO and Showtime. Most importantly, it was a huge win for Hip Hop. By the time Power’s second season came around June of this year, 50 Cent’s larger than life presence started to look shaky on the surface.
Things started to go left late last year when 50 started taking shots at Fox’s breakthrough hit Empire before it even aired at the top of 2015. Let’s be absolutely clear, both shows are completely different. Empire is a family drama wrapped around a musical more in line with ABC’s one-time ratings behemoth Nashville. Matter of fact, a nice amount of writers for the country music focused series actually work on the Terrence Howard, Taraji P Henson and Lee Daniels Hip Hop centered vehicle. Then there’s the obvious difference in Empire being a free telecast while Power serves the premium movie channel crowd. The only similarity between the two are that both use an overarching narrative structure. Being a loud critic of the show, 50 started to look pretty petty as his complaints were simply unfounded and Empire’s first season finally raked in a staggering 17.33 million viewers.
Power’s second season could be considered a large improvement over the first after dropping last summer. A quick trip to Twitter during its Saturday night timeslot was further proof. The lead cast became more refined acting wise and the writing improved upon complaints many had with season one. Makes sense why the second season currently sits at a 75 percent Metacritic score and average viewership doubled; averaging 6.9 million views per episode. Personally, Kanan became a pure psychopath and one of the best villains I’ve seen in a crime drama in quite some time. Watching the breakdown of Ghost and Tommy’s relationship was made more impactful by Sikora who should have at least received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor. I’d take him over Ben Mendelsohn from Bloodline. Considering competition for the bigger Emmy prizes, Power was going to have a fairly difficult time going up against Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. Then again, there could also be some politics at play. Fox, the home of Empire, is slated to host this year’s Emmy Award ceremony. Taking continuous shots at the biggest show of 2015 and its home is never a good look.
For someone who considers themselves a casual fan of the series, Power reminds me of New York Undercover told from the bad guy’s perspective and without the singular episode structure. It’s a gritty New York crime drama that’s filled with some great head-turning moments. Who doesn’t remember Kanan murdering his own son or the seeing La La “taste like Cheerios” self get naked as Lakeisha? Sure, Power is a casualty of its safer timeslot and Starz’s half-decade struggle to find original programming that can tackle HBO’s Game Of Thrones or Showtime’s Ray Donovan. Doesn’t stop it from being the biggest series in Starz’s history. The ratings and positive response it’s received is further proof. In terms of 50, Power is his biggest win this year after taking a few significant losses, including the ending to his feud with Rick Ross. Fiddy’s ongoing history in Hollywood producing was once only being reduced to Wal-Mart discount aisle. Interesting when one also considers his pretty phenomenal role in Southpaw this year. Being the true hustler he is, Curtis Jackson is making good on his promise of infiltrating Hollywood from behind and in front of the camera. His status in music may be questionable at the moment but, his work in film is definitely becoming more noticeable. Until season three folks.
