Empire

2015

Seasons & Episodes

  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

7.4| 0h30m| TV-14| en| More Info
Released: 07 January 2015 Ended
Producted By: Lee Daniels Entertainment
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://fox.com/empire
Synopsis

A powerful family drama about the head of a music empire whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne.

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Lee Daniels Entertainment

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Reviews

mukava991 TV soap operas have come a long way since "As the World Turns" and "Peyton Place" so many decades ago and indeed some way from their 80s heirs, "Dallas" and "Dynasty." They always focused on sex, infidelity, scheming, intrigue, secrets and scandals and always thrived by positioning beautiful babes and chiseled hunks front and center. This review is based on the first two or three seasons of "Empire" in which rap music and blackness have replaced the oil wells and whiteness of the old "Dynasty" and "Dallas" templates. Driving the plot are the two main characters, Luscious Lyon (Terrence Howard), a rap mogul from the mean streets of Philadelphia and his estranged wife Cookie (the magnetic Taraji P. Henson), who together created the titular music industry entity. This is one hot couple - alternately kissing and slugging, honoring and betraying, sinning and regretting, all the while dressed to kill amidst gleaming splendor. The second tier of characters is a trio of sons: a muscle-bound bipolar accounting whiz (Trai Byers) married to a Waspy white woman (Kaitlin Doubleday); and rival younger brothers, the swaggering Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) building his rap career while fornicating with a succession of hot chicks, and his gay sibling rival (Jamal, played by Jussie Smollett), also embarking on a singing career, and alternately fighting and supporting not only his macho brother but also his disapproving father who, in flashback, is seen dumping the effeminate toddler into a trash can in a fit of homophobic rage.Every episode features at least one extended "musical" sequence, which these days means deafening samples of pre-recorded music under which one or more live humans barks out some kind of rant or extended jibberish while gyrating aimlessly against a backdrop of pulsing lights and video imagery, all of which sends the venue's audience into raptures and adds millions of dollars to the practitioners' already bloated bank accounts.Famous guest stars adorn every episode (including Courtney Love as an aging, druggy diva who has seen better days - type casting, but effective here; Naomi Campbell as Hakeem's much older lover - and boy could she use some acting lessons-maybe this is a supermodel's way of getting them; Jennifer Hudson as a gospel singing music therapist who is a better actress than Campbell, which isn't saying much, but really soars when she lets loose with that roof-raising voice; Snoop Dogg as himself; various rappers whose names and careers are and probably will forever be unfamiliar to me). These cameos serve the same purpose as extra blobs of whipped cream on a 10-scoop sundae. Then we have Gabourey Sidibe playing Gabourey Sidibe in company-executive mode. Contemporary political bits are tossed in but not developed (in the pre-Trump-era episodes I saw there were snarky comments about Obama being a sellout; a reference to the organization Black Lives Matter, which came into notoriety in 2014 Ferguson shooting; and frequent dialogues about anti-gay bigotry).As with all sensationalistic commercial TV product, extreme passions and emotions play out each week, leaving the characters remarkably unblemished by the next. One of the producers is Ilene Chaiken, who was also responsible for the entertaining and equally trashy "The L Word" in which a group of L.A. lesbians went through emotional meat grinders for several years. Fun to watch - once.
dlmvegas I can see now why I pulled the plug 6 years ago on cable and satellite TV. I have quit watching Empire just based on the Fox network's viewing schedule. These clowns like the rest of the networks start a show for a few episodes then it's gone for 2 weeks or more than it comes back. This show started with 8 episodes and hasn't been seen since the first week of December. I don't even know what was going on in this show anymore. It is supposed to come back this week but I'm no longer wasting my time with it anymore.For Fox and the rest of the loser networks you start a show then finish it. Don't just throw some other garbage show in the same time slot for 2-3 months. Then expect us to come back to the show we were watching. Hollywood has gone in the toilet. Just a matter of time before we all just push the flush lever for good.
kandikaine ...I am kind of on the fence about this show. I loved the fact that it seemed like it was a continuation of Hustle & Flow and the fact that the show was based around music. Oh goodness, how I loved the music in Season 1. So much that I even bought the Empire soundtrack, then came the first half of Season 2, which I didn't enjoy as much as Season 1, but it still had a few good songs that I also downloaded. Now here we are only 2 episodes into Season 3 and I don't get the same excitement when waiting for the show to come on, watching this show is kind of like being in a relationship with someone you are tired of, but you say "Hey, I've invested this much time already, so may as well stick it out the rest of the way and see how the story plays out." Then they do something that has you thinking "Hey, maybe they're not so bad after all, and then the next minute they do something that makes you remember why they have started to get on your nerves so bad.This is how I feel about the story lines on Empire, they get off to a really good start, and then they throw a monkey wrench in their own game with terrible casting like having Chris Rock as the most feared man, Frank Gatz. That had to be the most hilarious casting ever. It has nothing to do with him being a comedian either. I'm just saying was Keith David or Clifton Powell not available? They would've been more believable as Frank Gatz. Speaking of that, they also overdo it with the guest appearances, so much to the point it seems like they are relying on guest spots to keep the show afloat. I don't know if it's just me, but since the season finale that ended in Anika and Rhonda fighting on the balcony after Anika and Luscious' sham wedding, I have been noticing that they never show previews for the next episode, it just goes straight to the news. As if they are just writing as they go along. It makes me wonder if this show could be on it's way out because the writers are starting to get lazy.If this show does get canceled it won't be a big deal to me at all.
claraalmeidab This show is everything, I don't understand why people dislike it so much. There's A LOT of drama, yes, and even if you're not a drama lover, once you fall in love with the show you will handle and get it. This show is about family, about love, about music! It's about how this pretty dysfunctional family can work through all that it's bad and still be strong as one! At the end of the day you won't see a happy family for sure but I bet Luscious or Cookie or Hakeem, Andre or Jamal will put their life in danger in a heart beat just to save one another in a situation of life or death, no matter how bad things are between them. We've seen it at the end of season 2, so we sure will see more of it! And that's the beauty of the show.The way that Cookie fights for her family to stay together while Luscious is always tearing them apart. They just never give up on each other.Every character has a good story line and a big dept to its persona! The cast couldn't be more perfect, I mean, Terrence and Taraji are the soul of this show. The rest of the cast is brilliant too, no shade of a doubt.The music is beyond great and even greater if you follow the story of the show because you will be even more connected to the lyrics.I'm so excited to finally see how they're going to tell Luscious and Cookie's story as kids. Been waiting on that for a long time.Of course there is so much allusion to the world of music and how industry works,can u name me one show that is totally accurate with reality? It doesn't really matter because it is just a show. Anyways, I love it so much and for me, it was like a breath of fresh air when I discovered it. And it still is.To the Empire! * air punch *