Empire | |
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Genre | Soap opera[1][2][3] Musical |
Created by | Lee Daniels Danny Strong |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 1 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | |
Production company(s) |
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Distributor | 20th Television |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | Fox |
Original run | January 7, 2015 | – present
External links | |
Website |
Empire is a American musical drama television series about a music empire. The hip hop family drama created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, and stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. The show is partially based on William Shakespeare's King Lear and James Goldman's The Lion in Winter.[citation needed] The show premiered on January 7, 2015, at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Contents
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon, a former drug dealer turned hip hop mogul and the CEO of Empire Entertainment whose life begins to cave in around him after his past sins come back to haunt him following his being diagnosed with ALS.[4]
- Bryshere Gray as Hakeem Lyon, the fame-obsessed youngest son and Lucious' favorite child, who is a hip hop star on the rise.[5]
- Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon, the middle son and black sheep of the Lyon family, a talented, gay singer-songwriter who despises the corporate aspect of the music industry.[6]
- Trai Byers as Andre Lyon, the eldest son of the Lyon family and CFO of Empire Entertainment. He is Wharton-educated and power-hungry.[7]
- Grace Gealey as Anika Calhoun, head of Empire Entertainment A&R and Lucious' love interest.[7]
- Malik Yoba as Vernon Turner, Lucious' longtime friend and business partner, and chairman of Empire Entertainment.[8]
- Kaitlin Doubleday as Rhonda Lyon, Andre's manipulative and like-minded wife.[9]
- Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon, Lucious' outspoken ex-wife and mother of his three sons, who served a seventeen year bid in prison for drug dealing. She sees herself as the sacrificial lamb for Empire, which she built with Lucious, and then took the fall for running the drugs that financed Lucious' early career. [6]
Recurring cast
- Gabourey Sidibe as Becky Williams, executive assistant to Lucious at Empire Entertainment.[7][10]
- Courtney Love as Elle Dallas, a hard rock powerhouse and one of the artists at the label.[11]
- Naomi Campbell as Camilla, one of Hakeem's older lovers.[12]
- Rafael de La Fuente as Michael Sanchez, Jamal's boyfriend.[13][14]
- Macy Gray as Tasha, Hakeem's older lover who exercises control over him[15]
- Tasha Smith as Carol, Cookie's sister. [16]
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | Lee Daniels | Lee Daniels & Danny Strong | January 7, 2015 | 1AXP01 | 9.90[17] |
2 | "The Outspoken King"[18] | January 14, 2015 | 1AXP02 | |||
3 | "The Devil Quotes Scripture"[19] | January 21, 2015 | 1AXP03 | |||
4 | "False Imposition"[20] | January 28, 2015 | 1AXP04 |
Production
Howard, Henson and Sidibe filmed the pilot in Chicago in March 2014.[21] On May 6, 2014, Fox network picked up Empire as a series order for its 2014–15 television schedule.[22][23][24] May 12, 2014 FOX announced that Empire would be a midseason show rather than be on the fall schedule.[25][26] On November 19, it was confirmed that the pilot episode of the show would premiere on January 7, 2015, following the premiere of season 14 of American Idol.[27]
The executive producers are Brian Grazer, Daniels, Strong and Francie Calfo. The show is written by Strong; Daniels, who has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, makes his television directorial debut with the show.[7][28] Ilene Chaiken later joined the series as showrunner.[29]
Casting
Howard was cast in the lead on February 19, 2014.[4] Henson was named as the female lead on February 26, and Jussie Smollett was announced in a starring role.[6] Howard and Henson previously starred together as love interests in the film Hustle & Flow.[6] On March 10, 2014, Sidibe, who had previously worked with Daniels in Precious, was cast in a recurring role as Trai Byers and Grace Gealey were announced in regular roles, while Bryshere Y. Gray and Malik Yoba were announced in starring roles.[7] Courtney Love was added to the cast on October 23.[11] Naomi Campbell was announced in a recurring role on September 29.[12]
Music
After finding his lead actors, Lee Daniels set out to find a producer to craft the music for the series. Because his own musical taste and desires would be a little to dated for the show, Daniels consulted with people he thought could give him a little more insight, his children. At the urging of his son and daughter, Daniels contacted super producer Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley. Known for scoring hits with some of pops biggest artists including Madonna, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake, Timbaland takes his cue from the writing team who gives him an idea of where the plot is headed, and crafts songs to fit those themes. However, the musical aspect of the series is very reality based, unlike Fox's last musical series, Glee, performances would come with the organic development of the characters as artists, much like the performances featured in the ABC prime time country musical drama, Nashville. [30] "The story drives the music, the music doesn't drive the story," said Lee Daniels. Fox's senior VP of TV Music Geoff Bywayer said to expect the fictional musical world to collide with the real musical world; "We want to make the world of 'Empire' almost feel like a real music-breathing entity." While the show will also use outside writers, Timbaland's team gets the first chance to craft original music for the series. Any licensed songs and composer Fil Eisler's score are added after the episodes are filmed. The pilot itself consist of 12 songs.[31] Columbia Records will release weekly soundtracks of Empire on iTunes, the same strategy used with Glee.
Reception
Empire has received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a rating of 86%, based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though heavy on melodrama, Empire elevates the nighttime soap with its top-notch cast, musical entertainment, and engrossing plots."[3] On Metacritic the show has a score of 68 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[32]
Dave Wiegand stated in The Seattle Times that "Almost nothing about Empire, created by Lee Daniels (The Butler), feels original, but after a few minutes, you will stop caring".[33] 50 Cent stated via Twitter that he feels that Empire is being marketed by FOX in a way that resembles the marketing 2014 Starz series that he produces called Power.[34] Michael Logan of TV Guide described Empire as a "sudsy retooling of King Lear" with hip-hop as the backdrop and praised Henson for her portrayal of the character Cookie.[35]
Ratings
No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | January 7, 2015 | 3.8/11[17] | 9.90[17] | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
2 | "The Outspoken King" | January 14, 2015 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
3 | "The Devil Quotes Scripture" | January 21, 2015 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
4 | "False Imposition" | January 28, 2015 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
References
- ^ Los Angeles Times (2 January 2015). "Opposites Lee Daniels, Danny Strong unite to create 'Empire'". latimes.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ "Lee Daniels on Fox's Empire: "I Have a Great Love For Soap Opera" - Daytime Confidential". Daytime Confidential. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Empire: Season 1". 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley and Philiana Ng (2014-02-19). "Terrence Howard to Star in Fox's Lee Daniels Hip-Hop Drama". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 6, 2014). "Ryan McPartlin Joins NBC Pilot 'Salvation'; Bryshere Y. Gray Cast In Fox's 'Empire'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Goldberg, Lesley (2014-02-26). "Taraji P. Henson Nabs Female Lead in Fox's Lee Daniels Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ a b c d e Goldberg, Lesley (2014-03-10). "Gabourey Sidibe Reunites With Lee Daniels on Fox's 'Empire'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 7, 2014). "Malik Yoba Joins Fox Drama Pilot 'Empire'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ The Deadline Team (March 11, 2014). "Kaitlin Doubleday Joins Fox Drama Pilot 'Empire'; Regina Hall In FX's 'Married'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ The Deadline Team (March 10, 2014). "Gabourey Sidibe & 2 More Join Fox Pilot 'Empire'; Andrew Lees In TBS' 'Your Family Or Mine'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ a b "Courtney Love Joins EMPIRE, Premiering January 2015 on FOX". BroadwayWorld.com. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (2014-09-29). "Naomi Campbell Joins Lee Daniels' Fox Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
- ^ Wiegand, David (January 1, 2015). "'Empire' rocks on Fox, cliché and all". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "It's a Wonderful Life on an All-New "Empire" Wednesday, January 21, on Fox". Fox. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 18, 2014). "Macy Gray Boards Lee Daniels' Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ^ Diaz, Evelyn (May 8, 2014). "Tasha Smith: 'I Fell In Love With Lee Daniels'". BET. Viacom. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^ a b c Bibel, Sara (January 9, 2015). "Wednesday Final Ratings: No Adjustments Beyond Previously Released Increases for 'Empire' & 'American Idol'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- ^ "(EMP-102) The Outspoken King". The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ "(EMP-103) The Devil Quotes Scripture". The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ "(EMP-104) "False Imposition". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ Gomez, Luis (2014-05-07). "Lee Daniels' 'Empire' picked up by Fox, will 'likely' film in Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
- ^ Hibberd, James (2014-05-06). "Lee Daniels hip-hop drama 'Empire' gets Fox series order". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
- ^ Braxton, Greg (2014-05-06). "Lee Daniels' 'Empire,' starring Terrence Howard, headed for Fox". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
- ^ Braxton, Greg (2014-05-08). "Lee Daniels' 'Empire,' starring Terrence Howard, headed for Fox". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (2014-05-12). "Fox 2014-15 Schedule Announced: 'Gotham' & 'Sleepy Hollow' Monday, 'Bones' Shifts to Thursday & 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Joins Sunday With 'Mulaney' + 'Glee' Held for Midseason". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 12, 2014). "Fox 2014 Schedule: 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' & 'Mulaney' Join Sunday Animated Block, 'Glee' Held For Midseason". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (2014-11-19). "Fox's 'Empire' Nabs Post-'American Idol' Slot: It's not immediately clear what the new Wednesday means for current occupant 'Red Band Society'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
- ^ Wilson, Stacey (2014-05-06). "Lee Daniels on Fox's 'Empire': 'I Wanted to Make a Black 'Dynasty (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-12-14.
- ^ Nellie Andreeva. "Ilene Chaiken Boards New Fox Series ‘Empire’ As Showrunner - Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Stack, Tim (January 7, 2015). "'Empire': Inside Fox's ambitious, groundbreaking musical soap". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ^ Newman, Melinda (January 6, 2015). "Timbaland Gives Lee Daniels’ ‘Empire’ Hip-Hop Cred". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ^ "Empire (2015)". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Wiegand, Dave (2014-12-29). "‘Empire’ rocks on Fox, clichés and all". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2014-12-30.
- ^ Fleischer, Adam (2014-12-29). "50 Cent’s Latest Beef Is With A New Fox TV Show". MTV. Retrieved 2014-12-30.
- ^ Logan, Michael (December 31, 2014). "Lee Daniels Builds a Soapy New Hip-Hop Empire for Fox". TV Guide. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
External links
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