Power Book III: Raising Kanan season 2 – release date, plot, news

The 90s-set prequel tells the origin story of 50 Cent's fan favourite character Kanan – now played by Mekai Curtis – explaining how the character changes from a fresh-faced teenager to the ruthless murderer we see in Power.

The show did not hang around however, in showing Kanan's involvement in a life of crime, and now an attempted murder by the aspiring drug dealer has left quite the cliffhanger for the next season.

Here's everything you need to know about season two of Power Book III: Raising Kanan.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan season 2 release date

Power Book III: Raising Kanan does not yet have an official release date – but going by the yearly cycle of Power and Power Book II: Ghost, a likely premiere date would be summer 2022.

Raising Kanan was renewed for a second season on 12th July 2021 – nearly a whole week before the show premiered on 18th July.

“One season isn’t enough to tell the coming of age story of Kanan Stark and his mother, Raq, a fierce and successful woman who is a force of nature,” said Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch. “The anticipation globally for more of the Power Universe made it clear that the Kanan story needs to continue.”

Filming seemingly began later that month, with the show's writer and producer Mike Flynn teasing that filming would be starting soon in a tweet from 19th July.

Kanan actor Mekai Curtis revealed in a September 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly that they were currently filming episode four of the crime show's second season – which bodes well for an on-time release sometime next summer.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan season 2 plot

**Warning: spoilers ahead for Raising Kanan season one**

Season two will see the Thomas family dealing with the fallout of Kanan's attempted murder of Detective Malcolm Howard, particularly as the finale ended with Howard waking up having survived the shooting.

The fate of several main characters now rest on Howard's decision – will he go along with Raq's plan to frame Unique for the crime, or will he snitch on his son Kanan and potentially lose his only bone marrow donor?

Unique has currently been arrested for the shooting after the bloody jacket was planted at his flat, so he will surely want revenge after being set up – which does not bode well for Marvin, who has also been arrested for drug charges.

Marvin looks to be making amends for near-strangling Jukebox as he will have an anger management therapist in season two, while we'll also get a better look at Jukebox's other family as her mum Kenya will be joining the show.

Kanan may be safe for now and hiding out in Maryland, but this is unlikely to last for long. Unless Kanan attempts to continue his criminal activities in Maryland, we expect the aspiring drug dealer will be back in South Jamaica Queens before too long and causing even more trouble for Raq.

Raq and Kanan's relationship was already under strain in season one, and we expect nerves to fray even further in season two now that Raq has been unveiled as the true villain of the show. Kanan will inevitably find out that Howard is his real father at some point, and soon realise just how much his mum played him.

Indeed Raq seems to have played just about everyone – including Lou-Lou, who is desperate to leave the family business and pursue his music ambitions. With a new character called Zisa set to join Lou-Lou's record label in season two, it remains to be seen whether Lou-Lou will truly be able to get out of the game or whether he will still be balancing his two lives.

Kanan actor Mekai Curtis was predictably coy about details on season two, but did say that the upcoming season would be "wild".

"It's just the continuation of actions and consequences," Curtis told Entertainment Weekly. "There's going to be some stuff happening that, again, you're going to see how it molds and shapes Kanan and what it does to his psyche.

"The family's in an entirely new space and different dynamic now, so it's them navigating that and figuring out where they can step, where they can't step. It's a lot of complicated things going on. It's wild."

Power Book III: Raising Kanan season 2 cast

Much of the Power Book III: Raising Kanan cast are expected to return – notably Mekai Curtis as a young Kanan Stark and Patina Miller as his manipulative mother Raq.

Completing the Thomas family will be Malcolm Mays as music-loving Lou-Lou, London Brown as the quick-tempered Marvin and Hailey Kilgore as Marvin's daughter Jukebox.

We can also expect reappearances from Joey Bada$$ as Raq's drug-dealing rival Unique, Toby Sandeman as Raq's love interest Symphony and Shanley Caswell as Detective Shannon Burke.

Omar Epps will also be returning as Detective Malcolm Howard, who survived being shot in a shock twist, having previously revealed that he would be open to a spin-off focused on his character.

“Oh yeah, for sure [I’d be interested in a spin-off], if done the right way, you know,” Epps told RadioTimes.com. “I don’t know if we can go into Howard’s origin story. It would just have to be something that’s unique and something that could be fun and something that would catch people off-guard.”

Famous actor Antonio Ortiz has also been promoted from a recurring character to a series regular in season two, suggesting that music will continue to play a key role in the upcoming instalment.

Some new characters will also be part of Raising Kanan season two – Omar Dorsey (Queen Sugar) will be playing Cartier “Duns” Fareed, a charismatic businessman looking to expand into new markets who may get involved in Lou-Lou's record label.

Paulina Singer (Gotham) will also be joining the record label as aspiring singer Zisa, while LeToya Luckett (Greenleaf) will play Jukebox's religious mother Kenya. Finally, Krystal Joy Brown (The Equalizer) will portray Marvin’s anger-management therapist Renée Timmons.

Speaking to Daily Express, executive producer 50 Cent said "there’s a possibility to bring in young Ghost, young Tommy and Breeze" also, after cameos from the Power characters were ruled out for season one.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan season 2 trailer

Don't expect a full trailer until closer to release in summer 2022 – here's the trailer for season one as a refresher.

• Power Book IV: Force is available to watch on Starz US now.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan is available to watch now on Starzplay. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our Drama hub for more news and features.