TV Show review
Review basis: 4 seasons, 40 episodes · through October 4, 2024
September 6, 2020 · 60 min · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Power Book II: Ghost follows Tariq St. Patrick as he attends an Ivy League-style college while dealing drugs to protect his mother and family after killing his father. The story spans four seasons of crime, family conflicts, betrayals, and power struggles in the drug trade. It features a mostly Black cast in lead roles with a powerful Black female matriarch running a criminal organization and a recurring gay character in the main family.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Power Book II: Ghost.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent Black actors fill lead roles including protagonist Tariq and matriarch Monet. Recurring gay character Dru appears throughout. The casting fits the urban crime world but shows clear patterns of identity emphasis in main positions.
Woke political dialogue
No evidence of activist lectures, identity politics speeches, or modern social justice messaging. Dialogue stays focused on personal power, loyalty, money, and family.
Identity-driven story themes
Core story revolves around legacy, crime, and family loyalty in the drug trade. Includes a gay family member with relationship plots and a dominant female crime leader, but the narrative is not structured around representation or identity politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Standard crime genre elements include corrupt lawyers, police, and power structures. No activist reframing of patriarchy, whiteness, capitalism, or systemic identity issues.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Minor online comments questioned the cast as woke. No substantial news coverage or broad complaints about the show advancing woke, DEI, or activist content.
Creator track record context
Courtney Kemp Agboh built a career on Black-centered crime stories and strong female characters. 50 Cent has criticized cancel culture. Other key crew show no notable activist patterns.
