# Empire (2015)

> A music mogul's sons and ex-wife scheme for control of his hip hop empire.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/54993

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 102
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Danny Strong, Lee Daniels
- Network: FOX
- Cast: Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Jussie Smollett, Trai Byers, Gabourey Sidibe, Grace Byers, Ta'Rhonda Jones
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3228904/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: campy, glamorous, melodramatic, sincere, irreverent

## What critics say

Audiences broadly admired the soapy family melodrama and its performances in the early seasons, while enthusiasm faded as the later seasons grew sprawling and implausible.

## Synopsis

Empire (2015-2020) is an American primetime soap opera created by Danny Strong and Lee Daniels for FOX. Terrence Howard plays Lucious Lyon, a hip hop mogul whose record label is his entire life, and Taraji P. Henson plays his ex-wife Cookie, a former convict who wants her share of the company. Their sons, played by Bryshere Y. Gray as Hakeem, Jussie Smollett as Jamal, and Trai Byers as Andre, each compete for the crown in a cutthroat contest of boardroom maneuvering, rival talent deals and family betrayals. Across six seasons of forty-five-minute episodes, the engine is a steady stream of corporate ambushes, rap rivalries, and sudden alliances played out in glossy Manhattan offices, recording studios and mansions. The tone is campy and glamorous yet emotionally raw, with melodrama that tilts toward the comedic and then turns sincere. Its music-driven spectacle and sharp family bickering will appeal to fans of Dallas, Succession and Queen Sugar, who enjoy a power-hungry dynasty soap set against the contemporary hip hop world.

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