Pride of lyons

From its music and catfights to in-your-face controlling mama cookie, it’s easy to see why empire has become an instant TV hit.

empire

Season 1 Wednesdays (from 4 March) FOX 21:00

There’s singing. there’s dancing. and there’s loads of diva tantrums. but don’t for a second mistake empire (2015current) for a musical. this is an out-and-out drama centring on a man whose family and business are tied into each other and he’s trying to create a legacy. that man? rapper-turned-media mogul lucious lyon (terrence howard), who’s told ahead of his company’s biggest period that he has als (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – a form of motor neuron disease). at the same time, lucious is trying to deal with his fiancée and ex-convict ex-wife who’s demanding half the company, decide which of his sons will take over at empire entertainment, as well as make sure that everything’s in place when he takes empire public. there’s enough drama right here to write a hit song about! what was that song by jay z, about having 99 problems…

huge hit

he’s… the big boss at empire. he’s a one-time drug dealer-turnedrapper-turned-businessman. his strengths: he knows music and he has the ’hood smarts to find a solution to almost every problem. his weaknesses: lucious is ill. none of his sons stand out as his heir. and then there’s cookie… while comparisons have been drawn to real entertainers (like jay z and beyoncé), show creator lee daniels – the man behind 2013 drama the butler, which terrence worked on – reveals the true source of his inspiration. “it’s a bit of my life, motown, my imagination and a lot of joe kennedy [president jfk’s father]. i wanted to bring dynasty back; i grew up on that.” dynasty infused with hip-hop? it’s worked so far – empire was renewed for a second season after one episode and it’s the first prime-