# Empire (2015 TV series)
**Empire** is an American musical drama television series created by [Lee Daniels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-daniels) and [Danny Strong](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-strong) for the Fox network, running from January 7, 2015 to April 2020 across six seasons. It follows music mogul [Lucious Lyon](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucious-lyon), chief executive of Empire Entertainment, who must choose a successor among his three sons after learning he has a disease that will incapacitate him within three years[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf). A hip-hop family melodrama in the mold of the 1980s nighttime soap opera, it became the No. 1 new show in the 18-to-49 age group coveted by advertisers during the winter of 2015[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/arts/television/empire-the-meteor-that-never-fell-to-earth.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creators | Lee Daniels and Danny Strong; pilot written by Daniels and Strong, Daniels directed it[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf) • [3](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/arts/television/empire-a-terrence-howard-drama-on-fox.html) |
| Network and run | Fox, January 7, 2015 to April 2020, six seasons[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/empire-2015/) |
| Premise | Lucious Lyon, CEO of Empire Entertainment, names a successor among sons Andre, Jamal, and Hakeem as his ex-wife Cookie returns from 17 years in prison[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox) |
| Lead cast | Terrence Howard as Lucious, Taraji P. Henson as Cookie, Trai Byers as Andre, Jussie Smollett as Jamal, Bryshere Y. Gray as Hakeem[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf) |
| Signature ratings | Premiere drew a 3.8 Nielsen rating, about 9.8 million viewers, roughly double the 2.0 expected; at least nine straight weeks of growth followed[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/arts/television/empire-the-meteor-that-never-fell-to-earth.html) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox) |
| Music | Timbaland contributed to the series' original music[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf) |
| Streaming | Available on Disney+ and Apple TV as of 2026[6](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-7c06a33c-199b-4a89-8822-1fd517845b13) • [7](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/empire/umc.cmc.bq2t2dq4d2vp80tb9hq5u445) |
## Premise and characters
Lucious Lyon ([Terrence Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/terrence-howard)), described in Fox's press materials as a former street thug turned immensely talented artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment, learns he has a disease that will leave him crippled and incapacitated within three years[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf). [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) identifies the illness as ALS[8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/). He must decide which of his three sons will inherit the company: Andre (Trai Byers), the Wharton-educated CFO; Jamal ([Jussie Smollett](https://www.edgepedia.org/jussie-smollett)), a gay musical prodigy; and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray), the favorite, a gifted musician who values fame[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf) • [7](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/empire/umc.cmc.bq2t2dq4d2vp80tb9hq5u445).
**Cookie's return** sets the succession struggle in motion. Cookie ([Taraji P. Henson](https://www.edgepedia.org/taraji-p-henson)), Lucious's ex-wife, took the fall for the drug-running that financed his early career and served nearly two decades in prison, emerging seven years early; the Los Angeles Times puts her time inside at 17 years served protecting her family[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox). Lucious's plan to take the record company public gives her leverage in the family power struggle[3](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/arts/television/empire-a-terrence-howard-drama-on-fox.html). The supporting cast includes Grace Gealey as Anika Gibbons and [Gabourey Sidibe](https://www.edgepedia.org/gabourey-sidibe) as Becky[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf).
## Production and development
Danny Strong's original pitch was "King Lear meets The Godfather, set in the world of hip-hop"; Lee Daniels adapted it for television, and after a bidding war the project landed at Fox with Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television behind it[8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/) • [1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf). Ilene Chaiken of *The L Word* was selected as showrunner, and Fox scheduled the series in the Wednesday slot behind *American Idol*, premiering January 7, 2015 opposite ABC's *Black-ish*[8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/).
**Casting** nearly went differently. Daniels initially wanted [Wesley Snipes](https://www.edgepedia.org/wesley-snipes) opposite Taraji P. Henson; Snipes's representatives could not close a deal, and Henson, then 44, was eager to reteam with her *Hustle & Flow* co-star Terrence Howard, 45[8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/).
Daniels chose broadcast Fox over cable for a reason he stated plainly: "Most of my relatives can't afford cable, but they can afford Fox."[8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/)
## Music
The series featured original music, with [Timbaland](https://www.edgepedia.org/timbaland) credited as a writer and producer[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf). This was a deliberate risk. 20th Television's Dana Walden noted that the series features an almost exclusively African-American cast singing original songs viewers would not already know, unlike a jukebox format, and the show also takes on heavy subjects ranging from homophobia to mortality[8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/).
## Ratings and reception
The show's first-season run was a ratings anomaly. Expectations for the premiere were, in [Brian Grazer](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-grazer)'s words, "on the reasonably high side," perhaps a 2.0 Nielsen rating; instead it pulled a 3.8, equal to about 9.8 million viewers, and the second episode grew rather than suffering the usual post-premiere drop-off[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/arts/television/empire-the-meteor-that-never-fell-to-earth.html). The audience then increased week after week, a streak the Los Angeles Times counted at nine straight weeks or more and called the kind networks dream of[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox). By the two-hour finale in March 2015, *Empire* had become the No. 1 new show in the 18-to-49 age group coveted by advertisers[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/arts/television/empire-the-meteor-that-never-fell-to-earth.html). Growth rather than decay across a broadcast season is rare; *Empire* achieved the rare feat of increasing its audience for the second episode, avoiding the usual drop-off after the premiere[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/arts/television/empire-the-meteor-that-never-fell-to-earth.html).
Critics received the series favorably overall. Metacritic assigns it a "Generally Favorable" score based on 62 critic reviews[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/empire-2015/). The New York Times' review of the premiere identified Taraji P. Henson's Cookie, introduced fresh out of prison, as the element that makes the series light up[3](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/arts/television/empire-a-terrence-howard-drama-on-fox.html).
## Comparison with other music dramas
The New York Times placed *Empire* in a specific lineage: "a classic '80s-era nighttime soap opera retrofitted for the age of Jay Z and Beyoncé," and grouped it with *Nashville* on ABC and *[Power](https://www.edgepedia.org/power-tv-series)* on Starz as "a rollicking family drama"[3](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/arts/television/empire-a-terrence-howard-drama-on-fox.html). Its original-music model, with Timbaland producing new songs for actors to perform in character, gambled that audiences would accept unfamiliar material each week[1](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf) • [8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/). And its home on free broadcast Fox, rather than cable, was itself a creative choice by Daniels, tied to who could watch[8](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/).
## Later seasons and conclusion
The series ran six seasons, ending in April 2020[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/empire-2015/). Its final season was compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic, which cut short production and gave the show what the Los Angeles Times described as an unceremonious end for a series that "helped change the landscape of television"[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox).
## Distribution after the finale
After the 2020 finale, the series remained available on Disney+ and was also listed on Apple TV. As of 2026, full episodes stream on Disney+, which absorbed former Fox and 20th [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) catalog content, while the series is also listed on Apple TV[6](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-7c06a33c-199b-4a89-8822-1fd517845b13) • [7](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/empire/umc.cmc.bq2t2dq4d2vp80tb9hq5u445). Disney+'s listing describes it as a "sexy and powerful drama about a family dynasty" centered on the battle for control of a music empire[6](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-7c06a33c-199b-4a89-8822-1fd517845b13).
## References
1. [EMPIRE — Fox Upfront Press Materials](http://assets.fox.com/shows/upfronts/assets/Empire.pdf)
2. ['Empire,' the Meteor That Never Fell to Earth, The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/arts/television/empire-the-meteor-that-never-fell-to-earth.html)
3. ['Empire,' a Terrence Howard Drama on Fox, The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/arts/television/empire-a-terrence-howard-drama-on-fox.html)
4. ['Empire' on Fox: How coronavirus halted its grand TV finale, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-21/empire-series-finale-coronavirus-taraji-p-henson-fox)
5. [Empire (2015) Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/empire-2015/)
6. [Empire | Watch Full Episodes | Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-7c06a33c-199b-4a89-8822-1fd517845b13)
7. [Empire – Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/empire/umc.cmc.bq2t2dq4d2vp80tb9hq5u445)
8. ['Empire': How Lee Daniels Made TV's "Black 'Dynasty'", The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/empire-how-lee-daniels-made-761342/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Family and relationship drama › Soap operas and melodrama*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license