EMPIRE
Prior to first airing last January, we had a moderate level of intrigue for the hip-hop musical series, Empire. However, through off-the-wall writing, ratchet acting and a slew of cameos through its first two seasons, the story of Lucious Lyon has been one we can’t help but watch. From subliminally mimicking the life of an unnamed person actually in the record business, witnessing Cookie Lyon come home from her decade-long bid behind bars for illegal music label start-up money instantly got our attention.
While Lucious had already moved on to Ms. Halle Berry 2.0, Cookie was still set on re-booting herself as a mother, now to three adult sons and looking to get her stake in Empire Entertainment for making a huge sacrifice. As Mr. Lyon remained reluctant and dealt with health issues, while murdering various characters – the first season became an instant hit. With Timbaland curating musical content for the entire show, the series has nabbed some of music’s biggest name – including making their cast of fresh faces legit artists in just 11 months.
Unfortunately, season two hasn’t capture that same magic season one did last spring, Empire is still one of the biggest social media discussions every week, whether it’s good or bad. If you can get past Terrence Howard resurrecting his legendary character DJay at times, the NYC-based hip-hop tale is one of the best gems you can find on network TV.