The full cast of Power Book III: Raising Kanan is being revealed.
The third chapter of Courtney A. Kemp’ Power franchise, Power Book III: Raising Kanan is a prequel that takes viewers back to the ‘90s and the early years of the now-deceased iconic Power character Kanan Stark, portrayed in the original series by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
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The first few actors announced to the full cast of Power Book III: Raising Kanan were Patina Miller, Mekai Curtis, Omar Epps, and Hailey Kilgore. And most recently added are Greenleaf’s Lovie Simone, The Hustle’s London Brown, Snowfall’s Malcolm Mays, NCIS: New Orleans’ Shanley Caswell, The Royals’ Toby Sandeman, and Mr. Robot’s Joey Bada$$. Star’s Quincy Brown has also been added in a recurring role.
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Power Book III: Raising Kanan is executive produced by Kemp through her company End of Episode and Jackson through his G-Unit Film and Television. Sascha Penn serves as showrunner and executive producer. Also executive producing 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 Hardy executive producing and directing the premiere episode. Lionsgate TV produces the series for Starz.
Check out the full cast of Power Book III: Raising Kanan and their character descriptions below.
Curtis will star as the titular role, Kanan. He is Smart, driven and still naïve. Kanan’s world revolves around his mother, Raq (Miller), who is raising 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 important, 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.
Miller will play Raquel Thomas. To the streets, “Raq” Thomas is cold, hard and fierce — a successful and deadly woman taking names in a man’s world. She is tough, resolute, ruthless, but Raq still is capable of love. Great love. The sole recipient of that affection is her son, Kanan; he is everything to her. As much as she cares for him, though, there are times one wonders the type of love she has for him. If she loves him for who he is or if she loves him merely as an extension of herself. The middle child of three, Raq also carries the heavy burden as the earner for her two brothers. She is the sun, and everyone else in her universe exists in her orbit.
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Epps’ role is still under wraps. All we know is that he is “playing a major figure in the Power cannon”, which could suggest he will be taking on the part of the enigmatic Breeze.
Kilgore will play Jukebox. is described as “a quick-witted, fiercely independent and strong teenage girl” and a confidant of title character Kanan. “They keep each other’s secrets and always have each other’s backs. Jukebox is determined to forge her own path, scrapping and hustling to make money to launch her music career.”
Simone will play Davina Harrison. Described as tough, sensitive, damaged, and resilient, Davina is Kanan’s (Curtis) ideal girl, and he’s been crushing on her since second grade. Davina has a tough home life and goes out with Buck Twenty, one of Unique’s crew. Her hard exterior softens quickly after she’s kicked out of school for getting into a fight and Kanan shows up for her in an unexpected way.
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Brown will play Marvin, the muscle for Rag’s drug ring. Marvin is the older brother to Raq (Patina Miller) and Lou-Lou (Malcolm Mays), Thomas. Father to Jukebox and uncle to Kanan. The oldest of the Thomas siblings, what he lacks in smarts he makes up for in volatile aggression. A hothead who is quick to spring to a fight, he’s a mainstay of the family business, and as such, freely asserts his opinions on how to run things – through his ideas are typically dismissed by his smarter, shrewder younger siblings. His quick temper and loud personality make it difficult for his daughter Jukebox to connect with him, not that he would even notice her attempts.
Mays will portray Lou-Lou, Raq’s (Patina Miller) confidant. He is the youngest of the three Thomases and uncle to Kanan and Jukebox. Unlike Raq and Marvin, Lou-Lou is seemingly gentle, soft-spoken – but he is also tough and fiercely loyal and won’t hesitate to pull the trigger when called upon. Often the voice of reason, Raq trusts Lou-Lou’s judgment and relies on him as her right-hand man for work and family matters. Lou-Lou has a passion for the music business and has big dreams of a future beyond the family business.
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Caswell will play Det. Burke, Detective Howard’s (Omar Epps) newly minted partner. A third-generation cop but first-generation female detective from a long line of Irish cops. Burke comes from a long line of Irish-American cops but is the first female detective in her family. She is hard-working, smart, and desperate to project a tough exterior – both to her partner and to the hard-knock crews she encounters on patrol – but Burke is green, and it shows.
Sandeman will portray Symphony Bosket. Bosket is handsome, suave, cool, confident, intelligent and intellectually curious. Symphony is getting his Masters in Urban Planning while moonlighting as a bartender at a popular night club. When he meets Raq, sparks fly. Despity their very different worlds, they quickly form an authentic romantic connection that will challenge them both.
Bada$$ will play Unique, the biggest drug kingpin in South Jamaica, Queens. He became the biggest thanks to his brother, who’s spending the rest of his life in prison. Unique is Raq’s main rival in the quest for domination of the streets. Handsome, hard, shrewd, he’s the man in every way. Unique runs the blocks, negotiating for control of the neighborhood, and when there’s an obstacle, he’s tough but fair. Until he isn’t. If a rival crosses a line, Unique will always retaliate to protect his own.
Brown recurs as Crown, a local music producer.