During a Zoom table read, the cast of “Raising Kanan” learned that Michael Rispoli would be joining the cast.
In “The Sopranos,” Rispoli portrayed the cancer-stricken mob leader Jackie Aprile.
Mekai Curtis and Patina Miller were thrilled he decided to appear in the crime drama on Starz.
Something is being loaded.
Sal Boselli returns to “Raising Kanan” for its second season with a familiar air of confidence. The formidable character is a new addition to the show, but the actor portraying him, Michael Rispoli, is a mainstay of the fictional East Coast crime syndicates.
During a virtual table read, the cast of “Raising Kanan” discovered they would share the screen with the renowned actor.
Mekai Curtis, who portrays Kanan Stark, told Insider in an interview, “Everyone started texting the group chat, and we all lost it. It was quite crazy.”
From 1999 to 2001, Rispoli portrayed Giacomo Michael “Jackie” Aprile in the hit HBO series “The Sopranos.” Before succumbing to cancer, his character was temporarily the boss of the New Jersey Dimeo crime family. In addition, he portrayed Rudy Pipilo on HBO’s “The Deuce,” Ben Jaffe on “Magic City,” and a fictitious version of real-life Profaci crime family boss Joseph Magliocco on Epix’s “Godfather of Harlem.”
Michael Rispoli portrays a thug who attempts to prevent Raqi from developing “Raising Kanan.”
Starz
In “Raising Kanan,” another type of organized crime family expands their drug enterprise into the Garden State. It takes place on the south side of Queens, New York, in the early 1990s and serves as a prequel to “Power,” which ran for six seasons on Starz from 2014 to 2020.
Kanan eventually becomes the “Power” supervillain that viewers loved to despise (played by executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson), but first he helps run the family business and expands it across state borders.
Sal Boselli opposes the expansion of the drug trade in his community.
Starz
Boselli and his thugs are positioned on the other side of the Pulaski Skyway when they make their move.
Curtis viewed Rispoli’s presence in the second season as a statement of confidence.
“It became a humbling experience because it’s like, wow, someone of that quality in that kind of room is also willing to rock out and jam with us,” he continued. As soon as we saw him on the zoom that day, I believe a variety of emotions passed through us.
In this season of “Raising Kanan,” Raquel Thomas fights the New Jersey mob.
Starz
In episode four of season two, Patina Miller, who portrays drug boss Raquel Thomas, confronts Rispoli’s character in a heated moment. Insider was informed of her reaction to his casting.
She gushed, “He’s great! He’s really fantastic!”
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.