Despite the cancellation, this “Power” spin-off is delivering astronomical viewership

The Performance Universe celebrated the tenth anniversary of the first show's broadcast this year. Three more shows will air for the tenth anniversary and one is in development. However, the first spin-off is expected to end soon. Power Book II: Ghostconcludes Tariq St. Patrick's story in Season 4. Earlier this year, Starz announced that the show would end with season four, split into two parts. According to a report from Deadline, this decision now seems unfortunate. Season four averaged 10.5 million multiplatform viewers per episode in its first 90 days, an all-time high for the series. The season continues to grow weekly, with the latest episode achieving 6% viewership growth ahead of the expected series finale.

Performance has always been popular with black audiences and households, and Power Book II: Ghost continues this trend. Episode 8 proved to be the top episode of cable programming among this key demographic in key markets such as Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles. Both two-part premieres were the highest-rated cable programs among Black households during their premiere weekends.

Why did Starz cancel “Power Book II: Ghost”?

Viewership was the most important factor in determining which shows aired and which did not. Different numbers are used to decide which shows to keep or cancel. Production costs are the biggest consideration right now, with seemingly popular shows being canceled at the peak of their popularity. Power Book: II Ghost falls into this category. Despite good performances, a new season would likely require higher pay for the cast, which would drive up production costs.

“As seasons go from one to two to three to four (seasons), the costs really go up for three to four because most of the actors are getting bigger raises, and you really have to get that done. “So you need to have in your portfolio development shows that can actually replace shows as they come into later seasons,” says Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch told Deadline while discussing why shows were canceled.

The plan is to cancel relatively old shows and greenlight new shows in the same universe. “You look at the (power) card and say, 'Okay, if I take one of these characters out and rotate one of them out, I can substitute this one to replace him.' Performance Half price show.' Now I invest a lot of money directly into the bottom line. And I really don’t lose anything in terms of acquisition costs and subscriber numbers because we know what those demos want,” Hirsch continued. Power Book III: Raising Kanan is heading into its fourth season, while Power Book IV: Power is on its way to the third season. Under Starz's current plans, that could keep them on the air for another year or two. The first replacement, Power: Originsis in progress.

Power Book II: Ghost ends in a week. Watch the penultimate episode at midnight on the Starz app.

WATCH ON STARZ