Power Book III: Raising Kanan is preparing to take its final bow, and we’ve got exclusive intel from the show’s STARZ and its mastermind creator on the twists, turns, and turmoil to come.
As the hit series continues its fifth and final season, viewers are finally getting the last chapter of the origin story that transformed Kanan Stark from a teenager searching for his identity into the ruthless figure fans first met in Power.
Part of that transformation kicked off season 5 with a bang, literally. Just moments into the season premiere, Kanan killed his uncle Lou, delivering one of the series’ most shocking moments and leaving fans stunned over the bloodline betrayal.
Ahead of that, BOSSIP spoke with creator and showrunner Sascha Penn, series star Mekai Curtis, and fan favorite Patina Miller about the show’s legacy. These themes have resonated with audiences, and what they hope viewers take away from the final season.
Instead, he believes audiences connected most deeply with the Thomas family and their complicated relationships.
“I think we set out to tell this story about a family,” Penn said. “I think people have really responded to that family.”
According to Penn, viewers have spent the last five seasons seeing pieces of themselves reflected in the characters, whether through their struggles, ambitions, or family dynamics.
“I don’t know if it’s because they’ve seen elements of the family that remind them of their own,” he said. “Or maybe there’s something even aspirational about it.”
That focus on family was intentional from the very beginning. While Raising Kanan serves as an origin story for one of the Power Universe’s most notorious characters, Penn explained that understanding Kanan meant understanding the people and circumstances that shaped him.
“The basics of the basics of this show is we’re trying to explain how Kanan became Kanan,” Penn said. “You can’t do that without understanding where he came from, who he came from and what that world was like.”
Penn noted that themes like identity, family, and survival remain universally relatable because they are questions everyone wrestles with throughout life.
“Those are the things that make us,” he explained. “Sometimes those are the things that break us.”
As the series comes to an end, Penn says his biggest hope is that longtime viewers feel rewarded for investing in the story.
“I hope that they feel like we told a full story,” he said. “People invest so much of their time and energy in these shows, and I want them to feel like it was worth it.”
For Penn, success ultimately comes down to whether fans leave with a deeper understanding of the characters they’ve followed for years.
“I want people to come away feeling like, ‘Yeah, I get it. I understand why Kanan is Kanan. I understand why Jukebox is Jukebox,’” he said.
After years of carefully building the world of Raising Kanan, Penn believes the series has stuck the landing.
“It’s really easy to climb up a high ladder,” he said. “Getting back down, that’s the real work. I think we landed.”
MeKai Curtis Says Understanding Kanan Means Understanding His “Why”
For MeKai Curtis, portraying Kanan Stark has never been about playing a future villain. It has been about helping audiences understand the experiences that shaped him.
Over the course of five seasons, viewers have watched Kanan evolve from a teenager searching for answers into a young man becoming increasingly confident in who he is.
According to Curtis, the most rewarding part of that journey has been seeing audiences recognize the growth happening beneath the surface.
“I think that people see the evolution,” Curtis said. “It’s very easy as an actor to come to work and just say the words that are on the page, but it’s an entirely different thing when you get to give those words a bit more meaning and peel the layers back.”
That layered approach has been especially important given that audiences already know where Kanan’s story eventually leads.
Rather than trying to recreate the version of Kanan seen in Power, Curtis approached the role one moment at a time.
“The Kanan that we meet at the beginning of Season One is an entirely different Kanan than we get to see at the end of Season Five,” he said. “I’ve approached it scene by scene, day by day, discovery by discovery.”
Curtis believes Kanan’s journey resonates because it mirrors a universal experience.
“I think it’s a journey for everybody,” he said. “We’re seeing this person discover who they are in the world.”
The actor also pointed to one of the show’s most compelling themes: confronting family dynamics that are often left unspoken.
“We get to watch this young person call out a lot of the things he doesn’t like within his family dynamic,” Curtis said. “That’s another conversation that doesn’t necessarily happen too often. Family business, family drama, things we’re told to sweep under the rug.”
For Curtis, one of the most meaningful accomplishments of the series is helping audiences understand that every person has a story behind their decisions.
Even when viewers disagree with a character’s choices, Curtis believes understanding their motivations creates room for empathy.
“You might not agree with it still, but you can understand a bit more,” he explained.
That philosophy sits at the center of Raising Kanan’s mission.
“Kanan is not just this crazy person in the original Power,” Curtis said. “Raising Kanan was peeling the layers back and doing the history to see what made him that.”
Patina Miller Hopes Fans Remember Raq’s Resilience
Few characters in the Power universe have sparked as much conversation as Raquel “Raq” Thomas.
Over five seasons, the ambitious queenpin has been admired, criticized, feared, and celebrated by fans who continue to debate her decisions long after each episode airs.
For Patina Miller, that complexity is exactly what made the role so appealing.
“I wanted her to be flawed,” Miller told BOSSIP. “I wanted her to be as human as possible, and I wanted her to feel like someone that we could all root for, idolize, hate and understand.”
Rather than presenting Raq as a one-dimensional crime boss, Miller intentionally explored every layer of the character.
“There is nothing about her that is one note,” she said. “I wanted to keep people on their toes with her.”
Source: Starz / Power Book III: Raising Kanan
That approach helped create one of the franchise’s most compelling portrayals of a Black woman in power.
While Raq is undoubtedly strong and strategic, Miller says it was equally important to showcase her vulnerability.
“We don’t always get to be three-dimensional,” she said of Black women on screen. “We don’t always get to investigate what’s under that.”
Miller particularly appreciated portraying a woman who is confident in her intelligence and leadership.
“She’s one of the smartest people in the room,” Miller said. “She’s confident in being the smartest person in the room.”
At the same time, Raq’s strength often comes with consequences.
“Sometimes strength can come at a cost,” Miller explained.
Throughout the series, she worked to reveal those quieter moments where audiences could glimpse the emotional burden Raq carries beneath her carefully controlled exterior.
“For me, it was important to let the audience see her vulnerability,” she said.
As Raising Kanan reaches its conclusion, Miller hopes viewers remember one defining characteristic above all else.
“I hope they remember her being resilient,” she said. “This was a character that did not give up. She was voracious. She was a powerhouse.”
More than anything, Miller hopes Raq’s impact extends beyond the series itself.
“I hope people want to see other characters like her on screen.”
From the beginning, Raq has fought to maintain power, protect her family, and pursue her ambitions despite overwhelming obstacles.
With viewers having five seasons of unforgettable performances, there is little doubt that Raq Thomas has secured her place among the most memorable women in the Power Universe.
