More projects from Courtney Kemp could be coming our way. The “Power” creator and showrunner signed an exclusive multi-year overall deal with Starz and Lionsgate, Variety reports. This new pact will see Kemp developing and producing more projects for Starz through her production company, End of Episode. Kemp will also maintain her role at “Power.”
“This new deal presents a wonderful opportunity to extend my creative efforts on ‘Power’ while developing new shows for Lionsgate,” Kemp said in a statement.
Chris Albrecht, prez and CEO of Starz added, “Courtney A. Kemp is the complete showrunner package, and we’re thrilled to continue collaborating with such a creative talent and outstanding producer. We are proud to see Courtney receive the recognition she deserves in our industry.”
“Power” tells the story of drug kingpin James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick, “Middle of Nowhere”) and his attempts to go legit. According to Variety, Kemp’s show “doubled viewership from its premiere episode to its Season 1 finale and generated the largest concentration of African American viewership of any scripted premium series in almost a decade in Live+7 viewership.”
The show switched to Sunday nights after its second season, a decision that paid off in dividends. The third season premiere snagged 2.26 million viewers after the move, an increase of 58 percent from its Season 2 premiere. Season 3 averaged 8 million multiplatform viewers per episode.
Before making her creator/showrunner debut with “Power,” Kemp worked as a writer and supervising producer on “The Good Wife,” where she earned Emmy and Writers Guild nods. She also wrote for “The Bernie Mac Show,” among other series. Kemp previously served as producer on “Beauty and the Beast” and “Hawaii Five–0.”
“As I was working my way up the ranks people didn’t see me as a threat because I was female and perhaps because I was of color, but I cannot say that definitively,” Kemp said in a 2015 interview. “I was the chick! I was the funny chick. Then it’s like, when you weren’t looking I took that.”
“Power” returns for its fourth season on Starz June 25 and has already been renewed by the network for a fifth season.
