SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from the series finale of the Starz crime drama Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
Although it has come time to say goodbye to Power Book III: Raising Kanan, things are only beginning to shape up for the titular character, who is coming back with a vengeance in the upcoming follow-up series Power: Origins. Sascha Penn, the creator of both Raising Kanan and Origins, is taking a moment to take it all in.
It’s a difficult task to conclude a series and hit all the right notes, but Penn wrapped up Raising Kanan with a lot of love and care. And while many may not understand the reasons why we had to have our hearts broken with the loss of Lou (Malcolm Mays), Marvin (London Brown), and then Raq (Patina Miller), we should trust the process and watch how the rest of the story unfolds on Power: Origins.
Penn spoke to Deadline about the events of the finale, that epic post-credits scene, and what’s coming soon from his new prequel series that will finally bring together the powerful trio of Ghost (Spence Moore), Tommy (Charlie Mann), and Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis).
DEADLINE: So many fans are sad because we said goodbye to our favorites. But, as Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson says in the final beats of the finale, this is not an ending, but a beginning for Kanan. What say you?
SASCHA PENN: The show was always called Raising Kanan, and it has always been that. We are a product of our families and our environment and our experiences. By the end of this series, you do have a good sense of how Kanan became Kanan. You may not love that journey, and you may be really upset about that journey, but it is a journey that I do believe explains how he became the character that we get to know in Power. We’ll know even better in Origins. I feel good about the story we told, and I do feel like it has a real ending.
DEADLINE: You surprised viewers with the young Tommy and Ghost, who are so young that Kanan won’t even mess with them. [Laughs] Why was it important to include them?
PENN: The one question I’ve been asked the most of any question over the past six years: when are we going to see Ghost and Tommy? In our timeline, they’re way too young to be super involved. But I always knew, even from the pitch, that at one point we would glimpse at them just enough for people to feel like, ‘Oh wow, there they are.’ And by the way, we put them into the show before we even knew Origins was happening.
DEADLINE: We need to discuss the post-credits scene. It’s Kanan’s birthday and the family, almost all of whom are now gone, are there for new mom Raquel. There’s an episode of Good Times on [Season 2, Episode 24 titled “The Lunch Money Ripoff.“]. Why did you pick that show?
PENN: In terms of going with Good Times, that show is on my Mount Rushmore of television series as a kid. I’ve watched every single episode of Good Times, and, like everybody else, I wish I was part of the Evans family. That family felt like this idealized family to me, right? So it was really important to include it. And this notion of this idealized family juxtaposed with this other family [on Raising Kanan]… I can’t unpack all of what it meant to me, but there was something about it that felt really appropriate.
DEADLINE: It fully makes sense, for anyone that knows that episode. Here’s a “bad” kid with an absent father bullying other kids in school, including the Evans family’s youngest Michael (Ralph Carter). He wasn’t a “bad” anything, more so a victim of his circumstances, like Kanan. What say you?
PENN: There was another episode which we considered. In the episode [Season 2, Episodes 9 & 10, The Gang, Parts 1 and 2], JJ (Jimmie Walker) was shot by a gang member [named Mad Dog].
DEADLINE: That would’ve worked out well as well, but I think you picked the right episode.
PENN: Yeah. I felt like we have this moment, we have Good Times, then we see Raq as a new mother, and what that responsibility feels like. Raq didn’t set out to raise this kid who ultimately wants to kill her. No, she’s like every other parent. She has this tiny baby that’s defenseless in her arms, and she’s like, ‘I’m gonna protect you. It’s you and me. I got you,’ which is heartbreaking in a completely different way. I think most parents really set out to do the right thing by their kids, but it’s hard. Life intervenes in all sorts of unexpected ways. But I felt like it was meaningful to have the last image of this series be a mother loving her son.
DEADLINE: What can you tease about Origins?
PENN: It takes place in like 2002, 2003. Tonally, it is different than Raising Kanan and Ghost; there’s a little more levity. It’s a little bit more like 48 Hours or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That’s sort of what we were aiming for. So it’s fun. Not to say that there isn’t dark stuff in it, and Kanan is there and it’s a pretty grim version of him. It’s super fast-paced. The actors that are playing Tommy and Ghost are amazing. They’ve done the right thing, which is that they give you enough of the original Tommy and Ghost while at the same time making the characters entirely their own. We just wrapped last week on 18 episodes. I think people are gonna love it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
