Empire

[AntiArbitrator]

Synopsis: Hip-hop artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon, has always ruled unchallenged, but a medical diagnosis predicts he will be incapacitated in three years, which prompts the sharks to circle. Without further damaging his family, he must decide which of his three sons will take over. His favorite, young Hakeem, is a gifted musician but values fame over hard work. Middle son, Jamal, is talented and shy but gay -- embarrassing to Lyon. The oldest, Andre, is business-minded but lacks charisma. The reappearance of Cookie, his ex-wife, complicates things; she says he owes her for taking the fall for the drug-running that financed his early career.

[AntiArbitrator]

I watched this show and I am putting it up there with Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder.

[AntiArbitrator]

Empire tied HTGAWM for FOX's most watched premiere. It was trending within 15 minutes.

I have eclectic viewing choices and this show has bumped some of my favorites to a lower position. Taraji and Terrance have great chemistry.

[gilmorefanalways]

I watched the first episode and it was def interesting

[AntiArbitrator]

I watched the second episode and it was exciting. Although they are adults, I keep expecting them to start throwing punches. Lucious has now promised the empire to both Hakeem and Andre. Meanwhile, Cookie is plotting to put Jamal in a position to compete with Hakeem. Neither parent seems to notice or care that Hakeem and Jamal are very close and are not competing against each other. They play and work together harmoniously.

This show seems more realistic to me than the stuff I see on soap operas.

Although I am fan of laid back music, my interest is eclectic, and I am enjoying the soundtrack. They are using talented artists so it does not matter to me what the genre is.

[gilmorefanalways]

I noticed how the parents were doing that and I can not guess what the outcome will be either the brothers will grow to hate and despise eachother or they will band together and become something together that is better than what either of them could be apart and then they will both be so successful more so than what either parent had planned and the two brothers will either help reconcile the family or the parents will be left in the dust watching their boys flourish while they are bitter and left with eachother which I might add seems like they hate eachother

[gilmorefanalways]

but ive only seen the first episode so im unsure what I might have missed

[AntiArbitrator]

You have posed some good possibilities even though you have not seen the second episode. When you watch the second episode, notice how Lucious talks to Cookie when no one is watching. When no one else is around, the brothers act differently also. 

[KyleEl]

This isn't the type of show that would interest me, but I found this.

decoy.tvpassport.com/news/building-empire-all-star-cast-brings-fox-hip-hop-drama-limelight?subid=national-00001

[AntiArbitrator]

Thanks. That is a well-written article.

[gilmorefanalways]

kyle this is also not my normal type of show that I watch but I happened to catch it and it really surprised me how good it was usually I can go on reading my book while shows play in the background but not with this one. this one pulled me in

[gilmorefanalways]

anti I will def remember to watch that when I get to see more episodes

[AntiArbitrator]

I am caught up on the episodes and I am truly enthralled. It seems so real to me.

The show has been well received and an announcement has been made that it has been renewed for a second season already.

[AntiArbitrator]

I have been enthralled by every episode. Terrence Howard was on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and they mentioned this is the only show that the viewership has increased EVERY episode. The show has surpassed their expectations. I am very happy for them.

Terrence said Taraji told Lee Daniels that she would only take the role if Terrence was her co-star. He was so humble when he said that and he really appreciates her looking out for him.

When describing the show, he said he has "a crazy son, a gay son, and a worthless son." 

[AntiArbitrator]

MARCH 5, 2015 | 02:06PM PT
Cynthia Littleton
Managing Editor: Television@Variety_Cynthia

Brian Grazer is about to release a book called “A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life” featuring highlights of his weekly “curiosity conversations” with people from all walks of life on all manner of topics.

As “Empire,” the Fox drama that hails from Grazer’s Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox TV, notched its eighth straight week of ratings gains — a feat unprecedented in the modern era — Varietyasked Grazer to turn his curious mind to two key questions: Why the hip-hop soap is connecting so strongly with audiences and what a hit of this magnitude does for a creative enterprise.

Full article at variety.com/2015/tv/news/empire-fox-brian-grazer-1201447218/

[Kimba116]

Empire is now Fox's It show. Here is an article from yahoo:

Last season’s record-breaking hit drama returns atop the premiere week heap, topping everything but the NFL with a 6.5 rating in the key demo.

All hail the king. While premiere week is generally about seeing which new broadcast series fly (or fizzle), no new show is courting as much interest from ratings-watchers as Empire. Fox’s golden goose, the top-rated series last season, returned on Wednesday night. And it delivered.

The one-hour episode easily outperformed everything else on TV last night — and this week, if you exclude football — with an average 6.7 rating among adults 18-49 and 16 million viewers. Compared to previous episodes, that’s only eclipsed by the March finale as the highest-rated ever. It’s a much-needed dose of good news for Fox. The No. 4 network followed Sunday’s all-time low Emmy ratings with a soft premiere for Minority Report and a disappointing start for Scream Queens.

Advertisers are betting big on Empire’s new season. In The Hollywood Reporter’s recent cover story on the drama, the asking price for a 30-second spot in the Sept. 23 premiere was revealed to be a staggering $750,000. And the rest of the season will see the same amount of time going for as much as $600,000. (That’s in the range of peak American Idol.)

Empire’s first-season performance was basically without precedent in the modern TV landscape. Growing its audience every week for 12 weeks, the show broke record after record. Its January opener fetched an impressive 3.8 rating in the key demo and 9.9 million viewers, trouncing its American Idol lead-in, and its finale raked in jaw-dropping 6.9 rating with adults 18-49 and 17.6 million viewers.

And all of that was before time-shifting. A bigger draw for live audiences, Empire closed out the TV season averaging a 7.1 rating among adults 18-49 and 17.3 million viewers in live-plus-seven data. Multiplatform data is more difficult to account for, but Fox brass have been vocal about the show’s continued traction among streamers over the summer.

Fox’s good news extended to 8 p.m., where one of its debuts finally got some traction. Likely thanks in some part to its Empire adjacency, Rosewood opened with a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 7.4 million viewers.

Continued...


Source:

www.yahoo.com/tv/tv-ratings-empire-still-massive-tops-premiere-129787576960.html

[KyleEl]

I need to remember to search for an article I saw in an actual newspaper last week.

[AntiArbitrator]

I watch Empire every week and they continue to ramp up the excitement and shocking situations. But none of that can top the family drama of the Lyons family. It seems that when a member of the family finally does something I admire, he or she will do something so morally bankrupt that I want to slap them. The finale had happy moments and it had some devastating moments that will have repercussion throughout the next season.

[AntiArbitrator]

Empire did a great job in transitioning the show from the impending death of the head of the empire to the chaos caused by selfish demands and decisions.

The characters and the music continue to be entertaining, and I an happily anticipating the next episode.

More Than Kin
NEW
S02, E15

Lucious holds a fundraiser as part of a campaign to prove he should return as Empire's CEO; Hakeem considers whether or not to be a father to Anika's child. 

[AntiArbitrator]

2.17 Rise by Sin (5-11-16)
NEW

Hakeem struggles to find a place for his fiancé, Laura, in his career and family; Cookie reveals the truth about Freda's father to Jamal; Jamal makes a sacrifice for Lucious.

[AntiArbitrator]

Season 3 of Empire debuts September 21st.

The new trailer features a flashback to the early days of Cookie and Lucious’ relationship.

[skylander]

I have seen the first and second episode and there are some things I really do not like.

Anika and the baby had to move into the house with Lucious so the FBI cannot prove the marriage is fake. Lucious treats Anika as if he hates her and she is learning to be afraid of him. But she should be more afraid of Lucious' mother.

Cookie keeps telling Lucious to stop pursuing her, but he will not give up.

The major downer for me is that Jamal is suffering from PTSD following being shot at the wedding ceremony. When he is asked to perform, people keep flashing camera lights in his face and that brings on the stress. Jamal's songs were always a highlight of the show for me and this change in the story is a disappointment.

Poor Andre is suffering very much. His wife always made sure he took his medication and gave him moral support. It was heartbreaking when she lost their baby and now he feels guilty that he did not believe her when she told him Anika pushed her down the steps. Then Anika is involved in Rhonda falling to her death. At last count, Anika is hated by Cookie, Andre, Lucious and the matriach. I am not sure what Jamal and Hakeem know about the tragedies.

Andre is staying with Jamal and the three brothers will help each other to cope.

I would not be surprised if Lucious eventually finds a way to get rid of Cookie's cousin, the FBI agent. The agent bugged the baby's nursery to listen to conversations in the house.

What will happen next?

[skylander]

S3.E3 What Remains Is Bestial (10-5-16) 

Empire is on fire! After Angelo showed a personal interest in Cookie, Lucious retaliated by offering one of Angelo’s mentee a music contract. Angelo ranted to Cookie and she tore up the contract. Now Lucious is very angry with Cookie and plans to renege on the deal for them to run the company 50/50.

Lucious’ pep talks to his son are brutal. He told them they are soft and don’t realize they are black. He told Andre he is one step away from becoming a hashtag no matter how many white women he marries.

Hakeem and Neesa were in the recording studio where Hakeem was singing a payback song based on Tiana’s song that tried to embarrass him. Neesa said she did not want to do the hook on a song that put down a woman. Shyne lost his temper and put his hand around Neesa’s throat. He is really violent. When Hakeem told his father, Lucious was not sympathetic and told him to take lessons from Shyne.

A confrontation is brewing between the Lyon matriarch, Leah Walker, and Anika. My money is on Mrs. Walker.

Even though Jamal is not getting over the PTSD, we finally heard him sing. He performed a duet with Kitty (Mariah Carey).

There is a lot more going on. Have to watch it to see.

[AntiArbitrator]

3.04 Cupid Kills
10-12-16

Lucious starts seeing Angelo as a threat; Jamal takes his first big step towards recovery and faces Freda Gatz; Anika's return causes turmoil; Hakeem starts to have feelings for Nessa.

[AntiArbitrator]

It is only the 4th episode of the season and the Lyons are facing major problems from everyone they are involved with. Cookie’s cousin who is with the FBI is determined to put Lucious in prison and told lies on Andre to try to get him to snitch on Lucious.

Angelo likes Cookie and Lucious dropped some not-so-subtle hints that he should back off before he is hurt.

After Andre convinced Nessa to sign a contract with Empire, Shyne burst into Lucious’ office and punched Andre. Andre removed his suit coat and beat Shyne. Shyne pulled a gun but before he could do anything with it, Lucious hit him with a baseball bat. Shyne refused to sign the contract…until Lucious pointed a gun at him. Shyne deserved a beat down because he has been punching and knocking people around with little or no provocation.

Jamal is still suffering from PTSD and mixing prescription drugs and alcohol. He did arrange for Freda to be released on bail. Afterwards, Lucious said Freda played the game perfectly so Jamal would help her. I do not know if that is true, but Jamal believed him. The one thing I really dislike this season is Jamal's story arc. He is one of my favorites and they are ruining him.

Shyne is going to retaliate against the Lyons even though he is related to Lucious.

[AntiArbitrator]

3.6 Chimes at Midnight
11-16-16

When Empire is hacked, the leak creates feuds between the artists and among the Lyon family; Andre tries to prove his worth to the company; Lucious is determined to divide Cookie and Angelo; Jamal is caught in a love triangle.

[AntiArbitrator]

Empire continues to show the danger of plotting against the Lyon family. The computers were hacked and all of Empire’s employee and staff emails were leaked to the public. Lucious is a dangerous man to work for and that was demonstrated when he grabbed the IT guy and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not fix the problem. After that, Lucious showed up with a baseball bat when the IT guy gave updates.

I do think it is funny that Lucious fired the employees who bashed him in their emails. They should not have done that on company-issued cell phones and email accounts. When a picture of naked Cookie was shown on the big screen in the lobby, Lucious threw a chair through the screen.

I have been unhappy with Jamal’s story arc this season and his future is not looking brighter. The hacked emails revealed gay-bashing messages sent after he came out. The messages had been kept from him to protect him from the cruelty. It is difficult for me to discern Jamal’s relationship with the men around him. Are they there to help him with music or are they potential lovers?

Cookie and Angelo’s relationship keeps hitting rough spots, but he is supportive of her and defends her when others try to denigrate Cookie. She has never known a gentle man like him and he is good for her self-esteem.

Becky was producing Tiana and trusted the white producer but Xavier tricked her. Becky is furious with the guy and Thirsty told her he will help her get revenge. That should be interesting.

The demeaning conversation Lucious had in the limo with Andre several weeks ago affected Andre in a way that bodes ill for Lucious and everyone Dre comes in contact with. He is dangerous and smart and used the computer hack to impress the Empire board. They made him President of Empire and he is teaming up with Nessa to gain even more power.

Hakeem is at the top of his game and he wants Nessa. There is no way he will get Nessa away from Andre and if he does not want to get hurt, he should walk away.

[AntiArbitrator]

I did not expect to like the episode where Cookie and Angelo's mother were going to have a family dinner, but it was a good episode. Everything went wrong when Cookie was supposed to meet her, but Cookie wound up impressing her anyway.

Jamal is still messing up, but he did calm down and sang a nice song about his mother.

Lucious did everything in his power to hijack Cookie's meeting and to hijack her relationship with Angelo, but he was defeated.

[AntiArbitrator]

3.08 The Unkindest Cut
12-7-16

Andre sabotages Tiana's appearance at a fashion event to move Nessa into the spotlight; Tariq and Leah attempt to bring down Lucious; Jamal helps Philip get over his PTSD.

[skylander]

3.09 A Furnace for Your Foe
12-14-16

Cookie hosts a free park concert to help Angelo appeal to the masses and win his bid to become mayor; the FBI continues its investigation of Lucious and freezes Empire's assets.