‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Cast on Season Two Expectations and Working With Mary J. Blige: “A Legend”

The cast of Power Book II: Ghost opened up about what they hope fans take from season two, the higher stakes viewers can expect from upcoming episodes and what it was like working with superstar Mary J. Blige.

“I feel like there’s so much to take from this season,” star Michael J. Rainey Jr. told The Hollywood Reporter on the carpet of the show’s NYC premiere on Wednesday. “There’s so much emotion, so much action, sadness, happiness.”

Rainey Jr. plays Tariq St. Patrick, who’s still reeling from the explosive season one finale and finds himself drifting further from the one thing he’s been fighting to protect: his family. In order to do so, however, he gets back into business with the Tejadas, led by Monet (Blige), the drug organization’s current runner.

“Working with Mary is dope. She’s so cool,” Rainey Jr. said. “We talk about damn near everything. Just being able to be in the presence of a legend and she’s just there talking to you like she’s your homegirl.”

The word “legend” was thrown around more than once when it came to working with Blige on Ghost, and the singer and actress echoed that sentiment when it came to her costars and crew.

“Everybody’s amazing, shooting with some amazing directors — just being a part of this universe is just amazing,” Blige told THR. “What more can a girl ask for after such a long career?”

Blige also served as a cheerleader and friend for some of the cast. LaToya Tonodeo, who plays Monet’s daughter Diana in the series, said Blige has helped her learn how to maneuver through the entertainment industry and gave her some crucial confidence.

“After a particular scene, she was like, ‘You are really good, and trust that. Trust that,'” Tonodeo recalled. “I don’t know if I was giving off that wasn’t trusting it, but it was just really nice of her to see that in me.”

Lovell Adams-Gray portrays Dru, Diana’s brother and Monet’s other child. For him, having Blige play his mother was “probably the biggest blessing” of the last couple of years, noting how she genuinely cares about the show, her character and her onscreen family.

“We’ve really become like her children.,” Adams-Gray said, adding that he hopes the show makes the audience question themselves and their motivations. “The biggest question of this season is, ‘Do the ends justify the means?'”

And for executive producer and showrunner Courtney Kemp, the best part of Ghost is “being able to give women, people of color and LGBT folks jobs, both in front of and behind the camera,” she told THR. “To be part of the move toward more inclusive, not just casting but actually behind the scenes, that’s the stuff that really matters because those are the people who are gonna change the way things are.”

Kemp’s determination to have an inclusive set is what costar Berto Colon hopes fans take from season two of Ghost and the larger Power world, he said.

“I hope that they understand … the depiction of real life through the eyes of somebody who’s incredibly gifted,” he said on the carpet, “and someone who continues to represent everyone. [It’s] an inclusive show that doesn’t try to be inclusive for inclusive sake.”

Power Book II: Ghost returns to Starz on Sunday.