“The Power” is based on Naomi Alderman’s dystopian novel of the same name. Released in 2016, her prescient work introduces an empowering twist to our contemporary world: What if young women around the world suddenly developed the ability to harness electrical currents, to shock and electrocute people (cough, men) at will? The balance of power is rewritten overnight, and for the first time, those who’ve systemically sat at the top of the social hierarchy suddenly themselves slipping towards the bottom.
Alderman’s novel follows a handful of main characters across the globe. There’s Margot Cleary-Lopez, a well-meaning, middle-aged politician; Allie, an abused foster child in the U.S. South; Roxy, the daughter of an English crime boss; Tatiana, a former gymnast and wife to an eastern European dictator; and Tunde, an aspiring journalist (and one of just a few men at the center of the story) that makes a career out of documenting the Power. All four will appear in the TV series — which Alderman adapted for the screen — and are joined by a few more recurring characters: Margot’s daughter, Jo, her supportive husband Rob Lopez, and her political rival in Governor Daniel Dandon.