The ‘Power’ star and executive producer went back and forth about the ending to the popular crime drama.ByStephanie HollandPublishedYesterday
When you get involved in making a universe as expansive as Starz’s “Power,” you can’t possibly please all the fans. Some characters and stories are going to be a hit, while others will fall flat. Actors tend to stay out of the fray while the show is on the air. But after it ends, all bets are off.
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“Power” leading man Omari Hardwick recently expressed his disappointment with the series’ divisive finale. In 2020, after six seasons, the crime drama ended with James “Ghost” St. Patrick being shot and 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed by his son Tariq, who is the focus of the spinoff, “Power Book II: Ghost.”
There were many fans who didn’t appreciate Tariq murdering his father, and it looks like Hardwick is one of them. While appearing on a panel at the Uninterrupted Film Festival, the actor pointed to a lack of continuity in Ghost’s story.
“I have so much empathy for the fans, bro,” Hardwick said. “Because you were sold and told a story that did not continue in the way that it was sold and told to me that it would continue. So, you have every right to be hitting me up at every airport, every bus stop.”
He’s referencing the show’s original premise that Ghost was striving to get out of the drug dealing business and go legit. However, over the course of six seasons, he found himself being dragged deeper into the criminal underworld.
“We often forget that the fans are being sold and told a story that has a genesis and that it has to end the way that it was sold and told to end,” he said.
Following Hardwick’s comments, one of the universe’s executive producers, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, responded to the star’s opinion of the series finale and Ghost’s storyline.
“This [ninja emoji] is a strange bird. The fuck is he talking about, I never done nothing but look out for him,” Jackson wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post. “If he needed something I gave it to him. I understand now, that shit didn’t matter.”
Long-running dramas regularly evolve into something else as characters and creative teams change. “Lost” started out following plane crash survivors as they tried to find a way off a deserted island. “Breaking Bad” was about a high school science teacher who needed money for his family while he battled cancer. “How to Get Away With Murder” was a murder mystery centered around an intimidating law professor.
Do any of those synopsis sound like the dramas we became obsessed with during their runs?
Die-hard fans are known for debating the merits of a series finale long after the show has stopped airing. But it seems silly for Hardwick and Jackson to go back and forth about a show that ended four years ago. And with three other “Power” series still airing, there’s a brand to protect.
Maybe they need to focus on those and just let the original “Power” be over.
