In the Starz drama “Raising Kanan,” Patina Miller plays the leader of a murderous drug crew.
Miller claims that her character is as tough as the wise guys she faces in season two.
The matriarch is one of many fierce ladies in Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s “Power” universe.
In the first season of “Raising Kanan,” Raquel “Raq” Thomas confronted competing drug dealers, rogue detectives, and a wayward teenage son. This season, she faces a new adversary: the New Jersey mafia.
Patina Miller, who portrays a dangerous drug dealer in the “Power” spin-off, states that her character is up to the task.
The Tony Award-winning actress told Insider in an interview, “She is just as vicious as Sal and all of his guys.”
Raquel “Raq” Thomas and her two brothers Lou-Lou and Marvin manage a narcotics organization.
Starz
The misleadingly called series is intended to provide viewers with a glimpse into the early 1990s youth of “Power” antagonist Kanan Stark (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson). It is amusing to observe his transformation from an ordinary Queens teenager to the heir apparent to a cocaine empire. The most intriguing aspect, however, is the woman who coached him.
Raquel’s big hair and hoop earrings may not scream “cold-blooded killer” at first glance, but “Raising Kanan” is one of four spin-offs from the Starz series “Power,” which features a lot of intelligent yet vicious women. In the original series, there is an unnamed assassin who favors pink sneakers, and in “Power Book II: Ghost,” Mary J. Blige portrays a deadly mother.
In “Power Book II: Ghost,” Mary J. Blige portrays Monet Stewart Tejada, a drug-dealing mother with a murderous reputation.
Starz
As the original “Power” series concluded its six-season run, crew matriarch Tasha (Naturi Naughton) indiscriminately shot her best friend (Lala Anthony).
Courtney Kemp developed the world, and Jackson, who has been vocal about his own powerful mother, served as executive producer. In a clip from the first season, Raquel and Kanan mimic an incident from Jackson’s upbringing in Queens.
In “Raising Kanan,” Patina Miller portrays a drug dealer who will do anything to protect her family.
Starz
Miller stated, “What I admire about Raquel is that she doesn’t need to move with an army of people.”
Miller, as Raquel, confronts gangster Sal Boselli and his associates with only her two brothers in tow. She has her own goons, but she leaves them at home. She makes no fuss when it’s time to execute a subordinate for cooperating with the police. She merely makes him vanish.
Miller remarked, “She does not need to display her arrogance in this manner.”
In this season of “Raising Kanan,” Raquel Thomas fights the New Jersey mob.
Starz
Michael Rispoli, who portrayed Boselli on “The Sopranos,” is opposed to Raquel expanding her business beyond New York, but she disregards his protests. Miller stated, “She has no fears whatsoever.”
The performer comprehends her character’s desire to expand her company beyond seedy passageways and street corners.
Miller explained, “She has considered this.” She stated, “Southside Jamaica, Queens is really a stepping stone to the next stage.”
Raquel Thomas networks with other drug dealers who instruct her on how to launder money.
Starz
She contacts with OG Cartier Fareed to learn how to launder her funds and invest in legal businesses, such as her brother’s entry into the music industry.
Miller continued, “She’s essentially sketched out who plays what role.” Her vision is enormous, and as a result, she is in the process of expanding.
This vision so amazes Boselli that he respects her for her stubbornness. Instead of sending his warriors to attack Raquel, he concludes, “I kind of like her.”
Miller admires the intelligence of her character as much as the mob admires her bravery.
“Raqi’s no dummy,” she said.
Raquel investigates how she may better her family as a whole.
Starz
In the first season, Raquel puts her most formidable adversary behind bars and kills another menace with a well-placed gunshot. She instructs her son by example as she navigates.
She continued, “You’ve seen how calculating she was to wind up where we did at the conclusion of the first season; she’s very intelligent and she’s thinking about everything that most people don’t think about.”
Raquel Thomas looks beyond her relationships in the drug trade to safeguard her son Kanan.
Starz
Raquel is also eager to gain knowledge from individuals outside of the game. She dates a young urban planning student and solicits his assistance in entering the real estate industry. Even as their relationship deteriorates, she risks embarrassment in order to maximize her wealth.
Miller stated, “She receives the information necessary to move her ahead.”
Starz is now streaming the first four episodes of season two of “Raising Kanan.” Starz airs new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. E.T.