Michael Rainey, Jr. is back in the center of the Netflix and Lionsgate Power series deal as Netflix begins carrying four franchise titles in November. The move brings Power, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power Book IV: Force to viewers in most of the world, while the mothership series leaves Hulu in the U.S.
The licensing package covers six seasons of Power, four seasons of Ghost, three seasons of Force and five seasons of Raising Kanan. Netflix will start adding the first four series at the beginning of November, with the exact timing varying by market under Lionsgate’s existing local agreements.
Power’s November rollout
Four series is the key number here, because Netflix is not buying the whole universe at once. It is taking the opening block of the franchise first, then rolling it out market by market as local rights allow. For viewers, that means the catalog will not land in a single global drop.
32.6 million views for Nemesis in its first month and a half help explain why the franchise is moving again. Netflix is leaning on a proven crime-drama audience, and Courtney Kemp’s name remains attached as executive producer across the Power universe.
U.S. rights and Hulu
2017 is the pivot point for the mothership series, because Lionsgate TV had licensed Power to Hulu in the U.S. since then. Now that title shifts to Netflix in November, while Starz remains the primary U.S. home for the Power universe and keeps all seasons of Power, Ghost, Raising Kanan and Force on its own app and streaming and on-demand platforms.
The deal is not exclusive, which is the part viewers should watch closely. Lionsgate can still license the shows to other platforms where Netflix has them, and Canada is excluded from this package entirely.
What Michael Rainey, Jr. means
Michael Rainey, Jr. matters here because Power: Legacy is not part of the Netflix licensing deal. He stars as Tariq St. Patrick in that project, while Joseph Sikora plays Tommy Egan. Power: Origins is also outside the package and is in production on its 18-episode first season.
That split leaves Netflix with the established catalog and Starz with the ongoing universe. Raising Kanan is still rolling out its fifth and final season, with new episodes airing on Fridays at 8 p.m. and the finale scheduled for August 7, so the November licensing move arrives while the franchise is still active on the service that built it.
