I just finished catching up on season 2 of Power: Ghost, and I was impressed. For those who are unfamiliar with Power, it’s an hour-long drama created by 50 Cent & Courtney Kemp starring Omari Hardwick as a drug dealer who’s hoping to escape the life while dodging the police.
It might sound generic by my description, but the show is anything but.
At first, I wasn’t sure how far the Power Franchise could go. Shortly before the last season, Courtney Kemp announced that a sequel was in the works, and admittedly, I was apprehensive about watching it. After all, I knew the existence of a sequel would affect how they chose to end the original story.
And granted, spinoffs aren’t a new concept. But, they are typically a money grab tv studios use to extend the life of the original work, and they’ve been done many times before:
Breaking Bad became Better Call Saul
Girlfriends became The Game
The Walking Dead became Dawn of the Walking Dead
So on…
However, for someone like 50 Cent, who’s a born marketer, the spinoff concept is one he was not only able to harness – he took it a step further.
Upon watching the series finale of the OG Power starring Omari Hardwick (a more bitter than sweet moment at the time) 50 Cent/Courtney Kemp unveiled a trailer for the next chapter of Power and in it revealed their plan for a “Power Universe” — where she and 50 had established 4 more spinoffs that all coincide with each other all under the brand of Power
It was a genius concept that’s only been done in movies by Marvel.
But just like that, 50 Cent was back with another innovation. One that Hip-hop artists know all too well: Branded Houses
Power, A Branded House
At one point, Power was the most-watched series on premium cable, second only to Game Of Thrones. So, it only made sense (both fiscally and storytelling-wise) to extend the life of the show by creating a Franchise out of it.
What’s the best way to do that? 1 spinoff?
Not with the fanbase that 50 Cent cultivated. Power fans literally crash the Starz app & website every Saturday at midnight looking for the new episode. 50’s show quickly became the driving force behind Starz subscriptions so he knew that the only solution for this fanbase would be to give them a world to immerse themselves in. A Branded House of Power.
Now for those unfamiliar with the concept of a branded house here is a definition from codesign:
in a Branded House architecture one brand, the parent company acts as the cornerstone and all products act as a sub-brand under the brand.
So for 50 Cent & Courtney Kemp their branded house reads much like the structure you see below:
OG Power > Ghost > Kanaan > Force > Whatever Else
In this branded house, the original or OG Power led by Omari Hardwick functions much like the parent company and every story falls under it as a sub-brand. A very unique concept, right?
And much like Marvel, all of the sub-brands connect back to the original version of Power with references to the original in some fashion so their connection is evident as the plot unfolds.
The Impact of the Power Universe
At the time, critics said that a Power Universe couldn’t work and that 50 Cent & Courtney Kemp were just wasting their time.
But to date, their second installation of Power entitled “Ghost” is now the highest-rated TV show in Starz history. Their 3rd book Kanaan was critically acclaimed, and the fourth book “Force” starring Joseph Sikora is in its second episode already.
I think it’s safe to say that this formula is a success. We’ll see which networks follow 50/Courtney’s footsteps.
Peace.