We’re seven episodes into season four of Raising Kanan and if you thought the Thomas family couldn’t get more chaotic, think again. The latest twists have proven that no one’s safe— not even with power, loyalty, or blood on their side. Since its March 7 premiere, the season has been steadily peeling back layers of betrayal, ambition, and emotional fallout, all while giving us some of the most complex character development yet.
At the center of it all is Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis), who’s no longer just Raq’s son— he’s his own man now; building a drug empire and learning the brutal lessons that come with it. From his rocky split with Ronnie, to the rising tension with Pop and Snaps, Kanan’s journey this season has been a masterclass in internal conflict, revenge, and survival. And in episode six, when he made a reckless move with Juke behind Raq’s back (if you know, you know!), it became clear just how far he’s willing to go to prove he’s in control.
And speaking of legacy, Raq (Patina Miller) isn’t backing down either. With threats coming from all directions— especially from Unique (Joey Bada$$), she’s playing chess while everyone else is barely figuring out the board. Her calculated comeback in episode five showed us she’s not done building her empire— she’s just changing how she plays the game.
Meanwhile, Lou Lou (Malcolm Mays) is doing his best to stay clean and pursue his passion for music; in the Power universe, however, peace is always temporary. In episode four, he opens up during an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting about how grief has triggered his drinking habits, reminding us that addiction recovery is anything but linear, and that the music industry might not be the safe haven he once hoped it would be.
For Just N Life, I sat down with executive producer Sascha Penn and cast members Mekai Curtis and Malcolm Mays earlier this season to talk about the emotional weight behind these characters and the challenges they’re facing. Now, with just a few episodes left, their words hit even harder as the drama unfolds on screen.
Just N Life: The first three seasons really set the stage for Kanan’s villain arc as he chooses to go into business for himself. What has it been like developing a character who starts with so much potential but ultimately heads down the wrong path?
Sascha Penn: I think that’s the challenge of this whole series. There’s one piece of it, which is: how do we tell that story in a way that’s compelling and gripping for the viewers? The other piece is the emotional one— it’s a tough journey. Even as the writers and creators, you do feel, on some level, the emotional stakes that are involved.
Whether you’re a writer or an actor on a show like this, you put yourself into the character and the words. There’s a part of you in there, so there’s an honesty to what you’re doing. It has to come from a real place for people to believe it.
There’s a lot of Kanan’s journey that, while not specifically pulled from Mekai’s life or my life, still comes from an emotional place— loss, sadness, hopelessness, hope, love, fear. All those things come from inside of us as human beings, so we’re along for that ride in ways that can be really challenging.
Mekai Curtis: It’s a challenge. There are ups and downs that you take this person through. Like Sascha said, you have to find something within yourself that you can relate to in order to convey that to the audience. It’s a journey every day— finding the right places and spaces and having the room to fully step into that.
JNL: In the previous season, Kanan distanced himself from his mother after uncovering her lies. What is his biggest challenge now as he’s trying to step out of Raq’s shadow and fully claim his own power?
MC: Stepping out of Raq’s shadow and claiming his own power— that’s his biggest challenge. Even in the trailer, one of his mentors, Pop and Snaps, asks, “What do you want from this? What are you trying to build?” And Kanan responds with something along the lines of, “I want people to know me as me, not for who my mother is.”
It’s just wanting to establish— like any young person wants to— your own footprint. It’s also something Raq kind of talks to him about in Season 2 when they were up in the Catskills. It’s like you’re coming into that space of wanting to do these sorts of things and be your own person. So, it’s been ruminating in his mind for a little bit. Now, we finally get to see it actually start to move forward, as it has been throughout the whole show.
JNL: Malcolm, in the last season, Lou was battling his demons and struggling with addiction. So, what changes can we expect from him in Season 4? Does he get his act together and reignite his passion for producing music, or will he continue to struggle? Because we’re all rooting for him!
Malcolm Mays: I can’t tell you how it resolves, but I can tell you that it will be an interesting journey. I do think he’s in a new phase of his journey with addiction because it’s an ongoing battle; it’s a disease. People don’t just wake up and say, ‘I’m kicking the bottle.’ It’s always a constant maintenance of, ‘I’m not going down that path again.’ So, while he’s doing that, he’s trying to go after his dreams in music and keep those alive. He’s trying to keep his demons at bay and water his newfound garden, which I hope is an entertaining journey to watch for y’all.
JNL: Throughout the seasons, we’ve seen Lou deeply involved in the family business while also trying to walk away. How do you approach playing a character who is constantly balancing these two worlds?
MM: Truthfully, I think that’s all of us. If you come from anywhere and you want to do something different, you are constantly battling with your old self, your old world, and your new self and new world. How do you reconcile those and fuse them together to retain what was useful from the old one and acquire what is beautiful for the next one? I just try to fully let the human experience wash over me, let God do His work, and try to stay clear.
JNL: What have you learned from playing the character Lou?
MM: I learned a lot about people who are unsure. I’m not necessarily a classically or traditionally unsure person, so playing an unsure person who’s chronically unsure has given me the permission to explore things where I don’t need to be. You know, it’s okay to be unsure sometimes because being sure or unsure doesn’t define your character. It’s about being okay with the unknown and not letting that fear dictate you. That’s something I discovered by analyzing him so much and, therefore, having to analyze myself so much. It’s that it’s okay to be unsure, as long as you don’t let that fear overtake you, and it’s okay to be sure, as long as you don’t let fear be the reason you’re progressing forward.
JNL: What’s Lou’s biggest challenge in staying out of the game?
MM: He’s entering the rap business in the 90s, so that’s going to be the biggest challenge: staying out of trouble. I think navigating this world that he probably thinks is supposed to be formal, when really, it might just be as treacherous.
As we head into the final stretch of the season, Raising Kanan is reminding us that no one’s arc is safe from heartbreak or betrayal. Whether you’re rooting for Lou’s redemption, Kanan’s independence, or Raq’s reign, one thing’s for sure— this family will never be the same.
New episodes drop Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Starz, but for the real ones who can’t wait, they hit the STARZ app at midnight ET the same day. So set your alarms or stay up late—either way, you won’t want to miss what’s coming next.
Note: Quotes have been slightly edited for clarity.
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