Why is Power Book II: Ghost ending with season 4 at Starz?

Why is Power Book II: Ghost ending with season 4 at Starz? It definitely feels like there is enough story here for it to last a few more seasons; however, that is not going to be the case. The decision for the show to conclude at this point may come across as shocking and yet, at the same time it is rooted in some comments that the network itself made not all that long ago.

For more on that, here is some of what Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch had to say (per Deadline) at a recent conference, relating primarily to the economics of producing hit TV:

“When seasons go from one to two to three to four [seasons], three to four is where the cost really pops because most of the actors get bigger raises, and you have to really manage that. So, you have to have in your portfolio of development shows that can actually replace shows as they get into later seasons…

“As you turn the slate over to go from season four and five economics, to season one economics, you can pull a ton of cost out of the business. What you have to do is map out each of those shows and … what the curve looks like, and know where you have to pop a new show on to bring that cost down. And so we’ve got a pretty good map of what that looks like. Because again, we focus on those two core demos [women and under-represented communities], we’ve been able to manufacture hits for those demos.”

Remember that Power Book II: Ghost is entering season 4 … and all of these comments make more sense. Starz knows that this show would be so much more expensive to produce from here on out, and they may think that they can simply replace it within another spin-off set in this world. We know that a Power: Origins prequel, after all, is on the way.

In the end, money makes the world go round and here, money is also the #1 reason why the Michael Rainey Jr. show is saying goodbye. This could also apply to another Starz series in Hightown, one that ended recently after a season 3.

What do you think about Power Book II: Ghost ending with season 4?

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