‘Power’ Finds Its Young Kanan for ‘Raising Kanan’ Spinoff

Starz has found its younger Kanan Stark for its upcoming “Power” prequel: “Raising Kanan.” Mekai Curtis will take over the role that was played by “Power” executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the flagship series, the network announced on Tuesday.

“Power Book III: Raising Kanan” is part of an expansive list of spinoffs for Starz’s burgeoning “Power” franchise; the flagship series wrapped up its six-season run earlier in February. Curtis will star alongside Patina Miller in the spinoff, who will play Kanan’s mother.

Here is the logline for the series:

Smart, driven and still naïve, Kanan’s world revolves around his mother, Raq, who raised him by herself.  She is his everything.  At the same time, he is beginning to get a sense of not only the world around him, but his place in said world. Kanan wants to be just like his mother…and that’s the problem.  He’s young and wide-eyed and doesn’t know how the hustle works. And even more importantly, his mother is not nearly as keen as he is for him to follow in her footsteps. Theirs is a complicated relationship that only gets more problematic as time goes on.

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Starz previously announced its Chapter 2 in the series “Power Book II: Ghost,” which will star Mary J. Blige and Method Man. Along with “Raising Kanan,” Starz has planned two more spinoffs: “Power Book IV: Influence,” which follows Rashad Tate (Larenz Tate) in his pursuit of political power; and “Power Book V: Force,” which follows Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) after he cuts ties and puts New York in his rearview mirror for good.

Curtis’ recent projects include “Arrested Development,” “Girl Meets World” and “Kirby Buckets.” He is represented by Tracy Christian at TCA Mgmt and attorney Walter Moseley.

“Power Book III: Raising Kanan” is executive produced by “Power” creator Courtney A. Kemp, through her company End of Episode and 50 Cent, through his G-Unit Film and Television. Sascha Penn serves as creator, showrunner and executive producer on “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.” Also serving as executive producers are Mark Canton through his Atmosphere Entertainment MM, End of Episode’s Chris Selak and Danielle DeJesus, Shana Stein, Bart Wenrich and Kevin Fox with Rob Hardy executive producing and directing the premiere episode.

Lionsgate TV produces the series for Starz.

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