While the story of James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) may be over, the Power franchise lives on through his son Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) when Power Book II: Ghost premieres on September 6th on STARZ.
Power Book II: Ghost picks up shortly after the earth-shattering events of Power as Tariq St. Patrick grapples with a new world order: his father dead and his mother, Tasha, facing charges for the murder her son committed. Not to mention the academic rigors of the Ivy League University that Tariq is attending to earn his inheritance. Truly on his own for the first time in his life, Tariq is forced to split his time between school and hustling to pay for Davis MacLean, the fame-hungry defense lawyer who is Tasha’s only hope of getting out of jail and escaping prosecution by newly minted U.S. Attorney Cooper Saxe. With no better options, Tariq turns to the familiar drug game, entangling himself with a cutthroat family headed by Monet Stewart Tejada, that’s been at it for longer than him. As Tariq tries to balance his drug operation with his grades, love life, and family, he figures out that the only way to avoid the same fate his father met is to become him — only better.
The Koalition spoke to Michael Rainey Jr. about the weight of playing the franchise’s most talked-about character, how Tariq’s actions affect his life in college, what fans can expect in Power Book II: Ghost, and so much more.
“It’s going to show over time but honestly I feel like Tariq isn’t the spiteful kid that everyone thought he was. Obviously, he acted up for being upset at his parents, his family, and his father’s actions. Now it’s a different beginning, you know his father is gone, he’s got to maintain life with the weight of his father’s death on him, then he has to go to school and has to get money for his mother’s lawyer. There’s like a whole lot of things laying on his chest. Honestly, he’s forced to become a grown man now. It’s a different world now and I feel that Tariq can redeem himself.”
“Tariq is definitely misunderstood which is why I’m like super-excited for this to come out. This will help people understand him more. Understand the reason where he’s been in the past and understand the reason for what he’s going to do in the future as well. That’s the one thing I’m excited about. Just to get the people to understand Tariq.”
Check out our full interview with Michael Rainey Jr. in the video above and on the PowerCast Spotify and Audiomack links below.
Power Book II: Ghost premieres on Starz in the US on Sunday, September 6th, and will air on Starzplay, available through Amazon Prime Video, in the UK.
