Producer 50 Cent’s Kingpin Drama Gets Series Order At Starz
Starz has greenlighted its next drama series, Power, executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Mark Canton (300) and Randall Emmett (End Of Watch) and created by Courtney Kemp Agboh (The Good Wife), who will serve as an executive producer and showrunner. The pickup comes on the heels of Starz greenlighting another drama series, fantasy saga Outlander. Power, which has received an eight-episode order, tells the story of James “Ghost” St. Patrick, a wealthy New York City nightclub owner who wants to build an empire, turn the club into a Fortune 500 business, but there’s just one problem: Ghost is living a double life as the kingpin of the most lucrative drug network in New York. His marriage, family and business all become unknowingly threatened as he is tempted to leave his criminal life behind and become the rags-to-riches businessman he wants to be most of all. “Curtis has a unique and specific vision for the series, lending it an authenticity and voice rarely seen,” Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said. “Courtney has created a rich world and characters not often explored in contemporary drama. There is a rawness and soul to the character of Ghost as he struggles to live between these two worlds.”
Power explores “a world of beauty, luxury, danger and death, all against the struggle of one man to define his nature and his soul,” Agboh said. “While the power and peril of Ghost’s world are specific, we hope to address the truly universal questions we all face when we look in the mirror: who am I? Where am I going? Who do I want to become?”
Jackson said Power has been “a passion project” for him. It came out of a dinner he had with producers Canton and Randall Emmett. “Curtis wanted to do a modern family drama and a show with music as integral component,” Canton recalled. Indeed, music is expected to be a major part of Power, and Jackson already has written several songs. While Jackson’s focus will be on his duties as executive producer and overseeing music for the show, there is a chance that he will also appear on the series, which will begin production in late 2013. After Jackson, Canton and Emmett hatched the idea for Power, they connected with Agboh whom Canton called “an extraordinary talent.” Because of Agboh’s gig on The Good Wife, the series’ studio, CBS TV Studios, came on board to produce Power.
In addition to Power, Jackson has an animated comedy presentation loosely based on his childhood at Fox, which he also exec produces with Emmett. Canton and Emmett most recently were producers on Escape Plan starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, which will be released in theaters in October. Agboh’s series credits also include The Bernie Mac Show and Eli Stone. She is with CAA and Brian Agboh.
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