Empire (2015 TV series)
Empire is an American musical drama television series created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong for Fox that ran from January 7, 2015, to April 21, 2020. It is a joint production by Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television. Although it is filmed in Chicago,[2][3] the show is set in New York. The series centers on the fictional hip hop music and entertainment company Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders' family as they fight for control of it. It stars Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Jussie Smollett and Trai Byers as members of the Lyon Family, along with a supporting cast including Grace Byers, Kaitlin Doubleday, Gabourey Sidibe, Ta'Rhonda Jones, Serayah, Malik Yoba and Vivica A. Fox.
Empire
- Terrence Howard
- Taraji P. Henson
- Bryshere Y. Gray
- Jussie Smollett
- Trai Byers
- Grace Byers
- Malik Yoba
- Tasha Smith
- Kaitlin Doubleday
- Gabourey Sidibe
- Ta'Rhonda Jones
- Serayah
- Morocco Omari
- Xzibit
- Bre-Z
- Rumer Willis
- Terrell Carter
- Andre Royo
- Nicole Ari Parker
- Chet Hanks
- Rhyon Nicole Brown
- A. Z. Kelsey
- Vivica A. Fox
- Meta Golding
- Mario
- Katlynn Simone
- Wood Harris
- Fil Eisler (score)
- Rodney Jerkins, Ester Dean, Jim Beanz, et al[1] (songs)
United States
English
6
102 (list of episodes)
- Danny Strong
- Brian Grazer
- Robert Munic
- Francie Calfo
- Ilene Chaiken
- Sanaa Hamri
- Lee Daniels
- Dennis Hammer
- Brent Mahoney
- Attica Locke
- Malcolm Spellman
- Loucas George
- Dianne Houston
- Craig Brewer (co-executive producer)
- Andrew Dunn
- Paul M. Sommers
- Joe Leonard
- Zack Arnold
- Raúl Dávalos
- Natalie A. Boschan
- Matt Barber
42 minutes
- Imagine Television
- Lee Daniels Entertainment
- Danny Strong Productions
- Little Chicken Inc.
(2015–2018)
(seasons 1–4) - 20th Television
January 7, 2015 –
April 21, 2020
The series premiered on January 7, 2015, to nearly 10 million viewers while the first-season finale was watched by 17 million viewers. Its first season received positive reviews from critics, who praised its acting, particularly Henson's, its direction, soundtrack, writing, costumes, editing and the overall tone of the show, with many critics describing it as a "fresh take on a musical". Subsequent seasons also received positive reviews, with its second season being the most well-received.
During its run, it was one of the most-watched television shows on Fox. On April 30, 2019, Fox renewed the show for the sixth and final season, and the first without Smollett, who was confirmed to not be returning after he was charged with filing a false police report in an incident in which he staged an assault and hate crime. The season premiered on September 24, 2019,[4][5][6] and the series concluded on April 21, 2020.
A spin-off of the series, centered around Taraji P. Henson's character, Cookie Lyon, was set to launch in 2020.[7] However, Fox passed on the pilot, and it was being shopped to other networks.[8] It has since been axed altogether.
Premise[edit]
Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) is a hip hop mogul, former drug dealer, and CEO of Empire Entertainment. Informed of his own imminent early death from ALS, Lucious is forced to choose, from amongst his progeny, a successor who will control his dynasty after his demise. He begins working to groom one of his three sons to take over the family business – Empire CFO Andre (Trai Byers), R&B singer-songwriter Jamal (Jussie Smollett), and rapper Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray). In the process, Lucious pits them against each other.[9] Lucious' ex-wife Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) is released from prison after serving a 17-year sentence, and also pulls for control of both the company and of her sons.
Broadcast[edit]
Empire was set to premiere in Australia on February 19, 2015 on Network Ten;[80] however, a week out from this date it was dumped from the schedule and pushed back. It ultimately premiered on March 1, 2015,[81] to a disappointing 377,000 total viewers, although it fared better with viewers in younger demographics.[82] The second season was broadcast on Eleven from September 29, 2015.[83]
In Canada, the series was simulcast on Omni Television (Omni 2).[84][85] The fourth episode and the season finale would also air on City, a sibling broadcast network.[86][87] Sibling cable network FX Canada would also air a marathon of the show on March 14 and 15, 2015.[88] The show moved to City starting in the 2015–16 season,[89] but was dropped from their lineup after the first half of the second season due to low ratings; Fox affiliates are widely available on pay television as well as over-the-air in some areas. Shomi, a subscription streaming service co-owned by City's parent company Rogers Communications, began to add new episodes following their U.S. premiere on Fox. A representative of the service stated that Empire was among its ten most popular programs.[90]
Empire started broadcasting in the United Kingdom on E4[91] with the first episode airing on April 28, 2015.[92] 5Star have since taken over the rights as of Season 4.
The series premiered in India on STAR World Premiere HD on April 24, 2015 (only in high-definition). Later, on July 14, 2015, Empire also premiered on FX India (both in standard and high definition) with the Season 1 finale airing on July 29, 2015. Empire premiered on June 24, 2015 in Germany on Pro Sieben, with the Pilot reaching 930,000 viewers.[93] In Finland, the show premiered on Sub on December 2, 2015.[94]
In South Africa, the show premiered on e.tv on February 3, 2016. In Serbia, the series premiered on Fox, on January 23, 2016.
In the United States, TV One has the exclusive cable rerun rights.