Raising Kanan: Omar Epps admits Malcolm’s ‘vulnerable’ after Kanan shooting | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV
In the final episode of Raising Kanan’s first spin-off, Malcolm Howard (played by Omar Epps) was shot down by Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis), who he had recently discovered could be his biological son. Thankfully, the NYPD detective lived to fight for another season of the hit Power spin-off, and Omar has spoken exclusively to Express.co.uk about his role ahead of his return to Starz.
Omar confirmed recovery will be a struggle for Malcolm in the upcoming season of Raising Kanan.
After blowing away Power fans last year, the franchise’s first period drama heads back to the early 90s to pick up where Kanan and the Thomases last left off.
While he has no plans to join up with Raq (Patina Miller) and her crime ring, Malcolm will return with a changed mindset after his recent encounter with her son.
“He’s a man who survived a few things,” Omar told Express.co.uk. “And he’s trying to figure out life.”
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Malcolm’s world was rocked when he discovered Def-Con’s prison records didn’t match up with him being Kanan’s biological father.
Raq orchestrated a plan to take him out when she realised the detective knew more than he should, but Kanan choked and failed to shoot him in the head as instructed.
“I’ve been saying he’s in the grey area,” Omar added. “He found out some really explosive information, he survived a bodily infliction.
“So he’s trying to figure out how to get back to his old self.”
Moreover, Malcolm is still sick with leukaemia, and is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.
“On the exterior, he’s still hard, hardened. Maybe even more hardened,” Omar maintained.
“But, internally, he’s in a very vulnerable state and he’s unfamiliar with that. So he’s trying to unpack that for himself.”
Detective Howard was one of the most capable cops on the force when fans first met him at the start of season one.
After being put through the wringer in the spin-off’s first outing, it’s anyone’s guess if Malcolm will survive his war with Raq or find himself looking down the barrel of a gun of someone who won’t miss.
As he doesn’t appear at any point in the original Power series, fans will be tuning in with bated breath to find out if Malcolm makes it out the other side.
Once Raising Kanan returns later this week there’ll be no shortage of Power content for fans to look forward to, as new seasons of Ghost and Force are also incoming.
Raising Kanan season 2 premieres Sunday, August 14 on Starz in the USA and StarzPlay via Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
