Patina Miller is in her ‘woman boss era’ for season 4 of Raising Kanan
Patina Miller will return as Raquel “Raq” in season 4 of “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.”
Editor’s note: This story contains spoilers about the first three seasons of “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.”
Patina Miller earned her respect as a fierce drug lord in the gritty streets of 90s-era Southside Jamaica, Queens, in STARZ’s crime drama “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and as an acclaimed actress and singer in real life.
Throughout her decades-long career, Miller won a Tony Award for her role in the musical “Pippin” and took on roles on CBS’ “Madam Secretary” and the blockbuster “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” installments. Additionally, the veteran snagged a Grammy for her work in the Broadway revival of “Into The Woods.” She’s also a mother, fashionista, and podcast star.
“I’m walking in my destiny,” Miller told USA TODAY. “I’m in my boss woman era.”
“I’m in the era of just having fun, trusting myself even more, and standing up for the things and going for the things that I want in my life, and not apologizing for that.”
That boss mentality translates in her role as Raquel “Raq” Thomas in “Raising Kanan,” a spinoff in the “Power” Universe. Miller portrays the complicated mother of protagonist Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis) − played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the original series −as he tries to stand on his own in the drug game.
When Miller first got the script, her character’s authentic realness attracted her to this project. From South Carolina, she took inspiration from 50 Cent, YouTube videos and worked with a dialect coach to capture the New York accent and aura.
“All my theater training has prepared me for this,” she said. “I love the whole aspect of this character being a mother, being the matriarch of a family, and the pressure of what that feels like. Raq had so many colors and so many layers, and that’s something that I wanted to explore.”
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It costs to be the boss in a world where you can’t put your guard down
The characters in “Raising Kanan” abide by a code: keep your mouth shut, handle business, and collect the dough. Expectedly, bodies might drop in the process. The family structure appears solid with her siblings, the suave assassin Lou-Lou (Malcolm Mays) and the short-tempered but devoted Marvin (London Brown). But building a criminal empire is expensive, and not just monetarily.
Raq knows this firsthand, as it has cost her relationships personally and professionally. Her unapologetic parenting style and relentless approach to the drug world has repeatedly landed her in hot water, especially in the dynamic with her son Kanan, who naturally became enamored with the lifestyle.
The genesis of their crumbling relationship happened in Season 1 when Raq ordered the teen to gun down dirty detective Howard (Omar Epps), who he later learns is his biological father. “No matter if it was his dad or not, sending your son to go and take a life was 100% the turning point for the relationship,” Miller said.
Although she calls the shots in her organization (literally), her shortcomings continue throughout the series.
“Raq has this big dream. She has dreams of leaving behind a legacy,” the actress continued. “Now she goes about it in some twisted ways, but I think that’s her circumstances.”
In Season 2, Raq shoots loyal foot soldier Scrappy (Ade Chike Torbert) for snitching after getting the wrong intel from Howard, complicating her relationship with Lou-Lou. In the finale, it erupts when the sister-brother duo have a heated confrontation about how, unbeknownst to Lou, Raq owns a piece of his record label − his investment outside of the game. She also admits that the Scrappy hit was a mistake because he wasn’t an informant, after all, but she still chastises him for not having the guts to pull the trigger.
In the scene, hailed as iconic to fans, Raq didn’t hold back, uttering to her blood, “I own you.”
Raq, Lou Lou square off in season 2 of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’
Raq and Lou Lou get into a heated standoff, hailed by fans as one of the best scenes in the series. Season 4 premieres on STARZ on March 7.
“She meant every single word of it, and that’s when you saw her viciousness come out,” Miller said. “I think people talk about that moment because it’s something she can’t take back.”
The scene “was so magical,” Miller recalled her time shooting on set with Mays. “There were a couple of takes where I didn’t put my hand on his face, but there was one take where we were just like feeling it, and I just gently grabbed his face and said, ‘I own you,’ and walked off. It was powerful. We knew we had gotten it at that point. It will go down as one of my favorite scenes. The dialogue was great. It was truly remarkable, and I’m so happy people loved it.”
Mother, sister, aunt, boss
Miller stated that Raq is a “refreshing” addition to the criminal television landscape, where men are the head honchos. Through her character, she proves that women can be at the center of these kinds of stories.
“I think men get the opportunity to play these roles,” she said. “It’s a very powerful message to send to an audience. You know what I mean? Put out there that women can be strong and complicated. I love that Raq is not a perfect mother. I love that she makes mistakes. I love how vicious she is, but at the same time, how she’s really devoted to family. She’s a mother, a sister, an aunt, but she’s a boss.”
In addition to her villainous ways, fans adore the 90s high-fashion couture yet street-inspired ensembles she rocks during her perilous escapades: “There’s something classy about Raq, classy about her fashion, but then there’s also something that’s so dope and swagged out.”
“You can really tell that Raq had a pulse on what was in, what was current at that time,” Miller added.
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Raq ‘loves deeply’ despite cold-hearted tendencies, Miller says
Although lethal, Raq lets her guard down with her rival-turned-love interest, Unique (Joey Bada$$). Her soft side particularly shines during interactions with her niece, Jukebox (Hailey Kilgore), who we see throughout the series tackle her sexuality, her complicated relationship with Marvin, the death of her first love, and finding her footing in a local all-girl singing group.
“I think people love that she’s dangerous, and they say she’s cold-hearted, but not really. She was there as a mother figure for Juke. I think that’s a big thing to take on the responsibility of another person’s child and a role model for her.” Miller said. “I think people don’t see that she is actually a good person that she loves deeply.”
The actress continued, “She’s hard on the family, but that’s because they don’t listen.”
Fans can see more of Miller’s character evolution in the fourth season of Raising Kanan, which debuts on STARZ on Friday, March 7. It will continue to explore the internal tug-of-war struggle between Raq and Kanan after eliminating Unique’s brother Ronnie (Grantham Coleman) and Howard at the end of Season 3.
“At the beginning of the [new] season, she and Kanan are not in the same place as they used to be, but they found a way to be in each other’s orbit as business partners,” Miller explained. “Kanan and Raq are on their own paths this season of trying to build up their businesses separately. And you know, once you have power, you want to hold on to that power, and power makes people act a certain way.”
“And Raquel, we all know, to keep the power, she might do whatever she has to do.”
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].
