Tag: Power Book III: Raising Kanan

A new episode of Raising Kanan is streaming on STARZ and fans are being treated to the ruthless ruling of two new characters.

Wendell Pierce has joined the Power universe as Ishmael “Snaps” Henry, a street legend drug dealer who’s a “retired” bank robber. He’s not alone however, he’s joined by Erika Woods who plays the calculated and cunning love of his life, Stephanie “Pop” Henry.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Source: Starz / Starz

Snaps and Pop have agreed to invest in Ronnie to get him back into the drug game after his prison release. And while most people are petrified by the brooding brother of Unique (who also killed him and hid his body), Erika Woods told BOSSIP’s Managing Editor Dani Canada that Pop is far from afraid because she’s a “secret weapon.”

Source: “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” Season 3 / Starz

“Well, Pop and Ronnie have a little bit of history and I love kind of playing into that,” said Woods. “She’s not afraid of anyone. And I really like the mystery behind her she presents herself as one way,but she has this whole other agenda and she’s really quite smart and she was easy to base off of a few women in my life.”

She continued,

“You’re gonna be excited to see where Pop goes on her journey, I think people kind of downplay her like, ‘Oh, it’s just a woman. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.’ She’s kind of the secret weapon. She and Snap have this like hidden language and she plays into all that with her femininity [and] her confidence. But just as quick as she can give you some honey,it can turn sour. And I always thought that was a good weapon with women.”

Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty

Wendell Pierce also spoke on playing Snaps, who’s a far cry from Detective Bunk, the iconic character he played on The Wire.

“That’s the the best thing about Snaps, he’s completely different,” he told BOSSIP. “You know an actor always wants to be as diverse and show range. I’m really happy about the comments. You know from people who say, ‘I’ve never seen you this way’ and I’m like that’s that’s a good thing. You don’t want to pigeonhole yourself. And so I love that about Snaps. He’s given me an opportunity to do something different and portray a character that most people haven’t seen in my career.”

Source: Arturo Holmes / Getty

Elsewhere in the conversation, the two dished on the powerful female representation that includes Woods’ no-holds-barred portrayal of Pop and Patina Miller whose been enthralling fans with her portrayal of HBIC, Raquel Thomas.

“It really is also a great demonstration of Black women and the talent but the talent that young Black actresses have,” said Pierce.

Watch our #RaisingKanan exclusive with Erika Woods and Wendell Pierce.

Raising Kanan is continuing to set the bar high for its fellow series in STARZ’ Power Universe, and we’ve definitely taken notice.

As previously reported, season 3 follows Kanan Stark as he continues to learn the truth about not only his mother but discovers more about himself in the process. It has been a tortuous journey for him and everyone around him.

Source: STARZ / Starz

With each new revelation, Kanan has been forced to confront his family’s seemingly never-ending web of secrets and lies including the the biggest lie of all, that his father was a famed incarcerated drug dealer.

Kanan’s world is rocked when he learns the truth that his father is actually a cop, Detective Howard, whom his mom shadily tried to have him kill.

In season three, Kanan finds himself grappling with the very notions of right and wrong. Good and evil. Fidelity and disloyalty. And he’s not alone.

Every member of the Thomas family must confront an existential crisis that challenges their very identity. Whether it’s Marvin, who’s still trying to redeem himself, or Raq, who’s finally coming clean, or Lou, who’s wrestling with his own evil, or Jukebox, who’s simply trying to break free from her family’s pathology, they are all attempting to redefine and reinvent themselves.

They won’t all be able to complete this intensely personal quest, but for those who do, the destination may reveal the most terrifying secret of all. There is no right and wrong or good and evil.

There are no absolutes. In the end, there’s just you.

Check out My Five Whys to see why Raising Kanan season 3 is a must-watch.

An actress who portrays “good police” on a STARZ series is telling BOSSIP about her character’s crusade for the truth that ultimately had dire results.

Raising Kanan continues to tell the origin story of fan-favorite character Kanan Stark (MeKai Curtis), originally played by 50 Cent in the flagship series.

This third season delves further into his evolution from the devoted son of Raquel “Raq” Thomas (Patina Miller) into the eventual ferocious, amoral, and pragmatic personality fans know.

**Spoilers ahead**

During the series premiere, Detective Burke (Shanley Caswell) had an unfortunate end after she told her partner Detective Howard (Omar Epps) that she knew his secrets. She knew he’d previously slept with an underaged informant (Raq) and she revealed that she knew he’d had a witness killed to keep his true identity as Kanan’s dad a secret.

Source: Starz / Starz

Left with no other options, Detective Howard murdered her and staged her death as a suicide.

Before that heart-stopping moment in the episode, Shanley Caswell told BOSSIP that Detective Burke has always had something to prove.

“I think what’s motivating her is less about the pursuit of justice and more about the pursuit of just being right and proving herself, ” Caswell told Managing Editor Dani Canada. She’s had all odds stacked against her. I think all of these factors are adding to her needing to be right and need to prove all these gaslighters wrong.”

Source: “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” Season 3 / Starz

She also laughed off fans calling her character one of the “most annoying” crime fighters in the Power universe, dubbing it par for the course.

Watch our exclusive with Shaley Caswell below.

New episodes of Raising Kanan premiere every Sunday at 9 pm ET/PT.