Lest you ever forget, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson will remind you that, as co-creator and executive producer, he’ll always be synonymous with the “Power” Universe.
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Friday (July 7) marks the 10th anniversary of the pilot episode of the original “Power;” the same date marks the season premiere of the final season of its first spinoff, “Power Book II: Ghost.” STARZ screened the season premiere Thursday night during a star-studded event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
Cast members from all four shows — the original “Power,” “Ghost” “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and “Power Book IV: Force” — were in attendance, including Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Michael Rainey Jr. and Naturi Naughton.
The Root was in the house for the premiere, where Jackson spoke on stage about his role as executive producer of the Power Universe’s four shows, He made sure to emphasize that the franchise’s success is far from a solo effort.
“There’s so many important pieces and so many important people that would have to work together to create a show like this. It’s never one person,” Jackson said.
He also mentioned that the original writers room consisted of eight people, six of whom are running their own shows across different networks; Fif himself now has 12 executive producer credits under his belt and works in some capacity on 34 shows across ten networks.
Jackson also acknowledged the apparent ripple effect of diverse television shows being canceled that seems to coincide with the recent rollback of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives, including “All American: Homecoming,” “Rap Sh!t,” and “The Wonder Years.”
He went to Capitol Hill earlier this week with a similar message, pleading with Congress for diversity in the liquor business.
“Someone had the idea to push diversity. It’s going to work. It’s been working to this point and it’s going to continue to work,” Jackson said.
Jackson also shouted out (or trolled) Tyler Perry, saying that he spoke with him before he arrived at the premiere while acknowledging that he’d make a good mentor.
“I talked to Tyler on my way here. Tyler is no joke. He’ll f*** you up if he thinks you’re Madea,” he joked.
“Power Book II: Ghost” is now exclusively streaming on Starz.
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