Omari Hardwick Rocks Power

Enrique Murciano - NCIS - Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved

With in the first five minutes of Starz' new drama series, Omari Hardwick rocks Power by dealing forcefully with an employee who was caught stealing over $200K from Truth, his sizzling hot up-and-coming new club for the city's elite.

Hardwick, who plays James "Ghost" St. Patrick,  isn't just the owner of the The City's hottest new club.  He's a kingpin in a lucrative drug network working for the notorious Felipe Lobos portrayed convincingly by actor Enrique Murciano  (Without a Trace, NCIS, CSI).

As Ghost, Hardwick is spectacular.  He takes no prisoners while living by his own set of ethics and rules which scales to Ghost's definition of justifiable violence.

Ghost wants to take his business legit, but he quickly discovers that once you're in with the cartels, getting out isn't so easy.

The new Starz drama is chock full of great actors who are recognized from previous work.

Besides the very talented Omari Hardwick and Enrique Murciano, look for the stunning Naturi Naughton (3LW, Notorious) as Mrs. St. Patrick and the beloved Debbi Morgan (All My Children) in the background as Estelle.

Palpable Chemistry Between Hardwick And Naughton

Although the cast has several unknowns, the chemistry between Omari and Naughton is palpable.

In an interview about the sizzling new series created by 50 Cent, Naughton sang the praises of her on-screen husband as well as director Anthony Hemingway and creator/show runner Courtney Kemp Agboh who previously wrote for TV's The Good Wife.

Actress Debbi Morgan at The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences- All Rights Reserved

Although the plot is nothing new - drug kingpin tries to clean up his life with predictable executions and related subplots - Omari Hardwick rocks Power with his inspired portrayal of Ghost combined with great visual clues.

Hardwick's character easily flows between a cool detached workaholic drug lord and business executive to a morally conflicted loving father.

Power Serves Up Rich Symbolism

The show's producers do an amazing job of providing rich symbolism through the character's fashions, hairstyles, accessories and various luxurious trappings.  Both Hardick and Naughton signal their mental and emotional states by the clothes they wear and then take off.  Most notably Ghost removes a very expensive business suit in order to roll up his sleeves and execute a traitor, first putting on gloves.

Meanwhile Naughton, dressed to the nines in a spectacular form fitting dress, removes her panties in the backseat of the family's private car to tempt the driver with an explicit sex show.  It's actually a brilliant way to underscore Naughton's inner emotional turmoil and seething rage she can't express directly to her cold-as-ice husband.

Actress Debbi Morgan - Fox/TV - All Rights Reserved

In one very notable bedroom scene,  Hardwick responds to his wife's sexual overtures by rolling on top of her for a detached quickie before jumping off and leaving the bedroom with his wife obviously frustrated.

Summary - Omari Hardwick Rocks Power

If the rest of the season of Power is as spellbinding as the premiere, Starz may very well have a hit on their hands.

If Omari Hardwick rocks Power for the entire season, as he does in the first episode, his will probably be taking home lots of kudos and maybe some acting awards.  The same is true for Naturi Naughton.

Even if you're not a fan of the story lines, the promised violence or the sex scenes, the fashions, hairstyles, accessories and stunning location shots are worth the price of a Starz subscription.