Raising Kanan' Earned a Ton of Money for Starz

TV

'Power Book III: Raising Kanan' was a success after the pilot aired. Starz renewed the series for season 2 in advance and the show earned the network a ton of money.

Published on October 16, 2021

Power Book III: Raising Kanan, the second spinoff in the Power Universe was a massive success. Set in the ’90s, the series focused on 15-year-old Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis), and his loss of innocence. Fans recognized adult Kanan from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson‘s portrayal of him in Power.

However, this version of Kanan is just a kid who finds himself mixed up in drug queenpin mother Raq’s (Patina Miller) business. Through Raising Kanan is currently on hiatus, we know that the first season of the show made a ton of money for Starz.

50 Cent says ‘Power’ made Starz official

When it comes to the work that he’s done, 50 Cent has no qualms about keeping it real. Over the past eight years, he’s made it known that Power made Starz the network that it is today. He recently shared his sentiments on social media

 “I had this idea to make a TV show like 9 years ago,” he wrote on Instagram. “7 years ago it aired and it did pretty good. Shout out to Chris Albrecht (Starz’s CEO). STARZ is official now I’m off and running.”

For now, especially amid the success of his latest series, BMF, it appears that 50 Cent’s relationship with Starz has only continued to thrive. However, the numbers prove that Raising Kanan in particular has only given 50 Cent more leverage when it’s time for him to negotiate his contract.

‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ brought in a ton of money for Starz

The impact of Kemp and 50 Cent’s Power Universe cannot be denied. While Power and Power Book II: Ghost held steady in their ratings, Raising Kanan‘s rating grew over time, a rare feat in TV today. In fact, Raising Kanan has been so influential to Starz that it brought in unprecedented subscribers.

During a presentation on Lionsgate financial quarter, CEO Jon Feltheimer revealed that Raising Kanan brought in almost 1 million subscribers to Starz within the first week it was on the air.

“We continue to grow our base of international subscribers in the quarter, but domestic subscribers declined, a temporary drop that we have already reversed since the end of the quarter,” Feltheimer said. “In fact, two weeks after the quarter ended, Power Book III: Raising Kanan debut to the second biggest Starz original series premiere ever, driving over 800,000 global subscriber gross ads in the first week alone and an 80% spike in viewership on the app.”

Is 50 Cent leaving the Starz network?

50 Cent has been in business with the Starz network since 2014 when he came aboard as executive producer for Power. In 2018, he signed a 4-year deal with the network worth $150 million. However, the TV mogul/rapper’s relationship with Starz has not always been smooth sailing. 50 Cent famously leaked episodes of Power amid frustrations with the network one year and he voiced his frustration with the network just before the debut of Raising Kanan.

 “STARZ is upset i posted @patinamiller (smh emoji) I didn’t know that picture wasn’t out, but i do know i have to build faster and get the f*ck outta here this sh*t is a mess,” he shared on Instagram.

We do know Kemp recently left Starz/Lionsgate for Netflix. 50 Cent could be next.

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