There’s a new “badass queenpin” in town in “Power Book II: Ghost,” and her name is Noma. In true “Power” fashion, the spinoff series introduces one of its newest ruthless characters, played by Caroline Chikezie, in the most explosive way possible during season three‘s premiere, which aired on March 17.
The episode’s opening scene ends with Noma chopping off a woman’s hand to retrieve an auctioned-off blue diamond ring her fiancé, Mecca (Daniel Sunjata), was supposed to give her before he was killed. (Aka the same ring Mecca gifted Monet in season two.) But Noma doesn’t even truly make her presence known until halfway through the premiere, when she rolls up on Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.), Brayden (Gianni Paolo), and Cane (Woody McClain) at Mecca’s penthouse, demanding that they start pushing drugs for her as penance for, she believes, killing her first lieutenant.
According to Starz, Noma is the “ruthless new connect” who disrupts Tariq’s plans to exit the drug game and puts him, Brayden, and Effie (Alix Lapri) back in business with the Tejadas as they’re “challenged to move more weight than ever before.” Clearly, she’s here to shake things up. In fact, Chikezie tells POPSUGAR that her “no-nonsense, f*ck around and find out” character “isn’t playing any games” when it comes to her business, especially since she’s stepping in to replace Mecca.
“She is a badass queenpin,” the actor proclaims of Noma. “The guys fear her, and they should because if they mess with her, they’re going to find out. She has no tolerance for nonsense — she don’t play any games.”
Chikezie says much of what we see of Noma in “Power Book II” season three was created by showrunner Brett Mahoney when she booked the role. However, the actor brought her queenpin character to life by drawing additional inspiration from an unlikely source: Denzel Washington‘s Frank Lucas from “American Gangster.” “When I read Noma, I instinctively knew what was needed to be done in order to portray her,” Chikezie says, referring to the Oscar winner’s infamous character. “I can’t even find a female to liken her to. She’s kind of male, energetically speaking, so [she’d definitely] be Denzel in ‘American Gangster.'”
According to Chikezie, the Tejadas, Tariq, and his crew aren’t going to know what hit them this season with Noma calling all the shots. “When she comes into their lives, they’re running their little thing, but she comes in and she kind of takes over a bit and shows them what’s what,” she says. “So yeah, she shakes up a lot of stuff. She restructures the whole thing they have going on. I don’t want to say too much, but tune in and watch, you’ll start to see how things unfold.”
New episodes of “Power Book II: Ghost” air every Friday on Starz. See photos of Chikezie’s new character ahead.