# Empire on Fox - Season One



## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

Don't know if there will be a second but the pilot had history-making strong ratings. Glad I DVR'd it because Fox made a lot off of ads. 

Terrence Howard plays villains well. (I always feel that I need a shower after watching him on screen.) I wanted to choke him during that "trash-can the gay kid scene". 

Taraji P. Henson was perfectly ghetto-fabulous and a force with whom to reckon. Loved her reactions to her sons' greetings -- especially the younger two. She might carry this show -- she ruled the pilot. So happy to see her back in a TV series. 

The gambling-addict friend couldn't survive the season but I hoped he would be another Cookie ally. 

I'm in for at least another few episodes.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

This smells too much like "Power" on Starz -- I'm skipping it.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

Bierboy said:


> This smells too much like "Power" on Starz -- I'm skipping it.


I watched the Power and wondered about that also. 15 minutes into it, I could see that they were quite a bit different.

Empire is about two Exes and their sons staking claim in a corruption-based music business. The Power is about a drug dealer who launders drug money with a nightclub and competing with other drug folks.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Beryl said:


> I watched the Power and wondered about that also. 15 minutes into it, I could see that they were quite a bit different.
> 
> Empire is about two Exes and their sons staking claim in a corruption-based music business. The Power is about a drug dealer who launders drug money with a nightclub and competing with other drug folks.


Still too similar....and I like Power. This just seems like a watered-down version...


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## realityboy (Jun 13, 2003)

I liked it more than I thought I would. I've seen it described as a modern Dynasty. It is a bit soapy, but the acting more than makes up for it. (At least in the pilot, we'll see if it can keep it up).


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

He threw his kid into a trash can!

She beat her son with a broom!

If I'm blackmailing someone who I know is a killer because that's what I'm blackmailing him about, I would not agree to meet him at a deserted part of town, at the river, under a bridge, at night. Bunky was too dumb to survive the first episode.

I liked it a lot. It won't take me four days to watch the second episode. Empire and Power are two totally separate shows.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

I missed the first airing, but looks like the pilot is on tonight, so set to record this time. I love night time soaps!


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

Too much like "Nashville"


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

I was surprised how much I liked it, I thought I would hate it and lose interest very quickly. I'll stick around for now.


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## frombhto323 (Jan 24, 2002)

Beryl said:


> Don't know if there will be a second but the pilot had history-making strong ratings. Glad I DVR'd it because Fox made a lot off of ads.
> 
> Terrence Howard plays villains well. (I always feel that I need a shower after watching him on screen.) I wanted to choke him during that "trash-can the gay kid scene".
> 
> ...


Agreed, especially about Henson. I think she will carry this show.


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## frombhto323 (Jan 24, 2002)

cheesesteak said:


> He threw his kid into a trash can!
> 
> She beat her son with a broom!
> 
> ...


Yes he was. As mentioned in another post, I thought he would become a Cookie ally, but she is probably better off without him on her side.

Things moved rather fast for just the first episode, but I'm surprised how much a enjoyed the pilot. I have it on Season Pass now.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

Finally viewed the pilot last night. Wow, I had a tough time keeping up. They bounced around so much I was just trying to keep straight who's who much less why they were doing what they were doing. Seems like everything that happened in the pilot could have been half a season of episodes!

But I enjoyed it. I don't watch Power, and I see nothing even remotely similar to Nashville. I'll keep watching! I love night time soaps!


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

There were some "Philadelphia" mentions in the pilot. The smart son went to Penn and Lucious mentioned that somebody had been killed at 42nd & Walnut streets. Also...

Fox's 'Empire' gets a Philly beat


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

I liked the second ep more than the pilot. The pace wasn't as frantic but a lot still happened.

Oh, so Cookie made a deal with the Feds and that's how she got out of prison. That explains that.

I like the Jamal and Hakeem are smart enough to figure out that their parents are pitting them against each other. I like them both. Oldest bro, not so much.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

This show cracks me up. Everything Cookie does makes me laugh. Cookie's assistant makes me laugh. Obama cussing at and hanging up on Lucious made me laugh. I don't know how long they can keep all this family drama interesting and fun but for now, I'm all in. I hope the bi-polar son starts taking his recalibrated meds because I think a subplot of him doing screwy and embarrassing things is a subplot I don't need.

I wonder if the fed agent's last name of Carter is a throwback to Taraji's character on Person Of Interest.


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## markz (Oct 22, 2002)

vertigo235 said:


> I was surprised how much I liked it, I thought I would hate it and lose interest very quickly. I'll stick around for now.


I didn't expect to like this, but enjoyed it quite a bit through the first 2 episodes.



cheesesteak said:


> I wonder if the fed agent's last name of Carter is a throwback to Taraji's character on Person Of Interest.


Now I have 2 Agent Carters on my TV every week!

Didn't even realize that Cookie was Taraji Henson until I looked on IMDB since she was so different than on POI.

Really like Terrance Howard in this role too!

I am enjoying the music even though this is not usually my genre of choice.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

I liked it, and it don't think it is at all like Power or Nashville.

I'm in...


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Danny Strong co-created and co-produces this show. I just knew him from Buffy but according to his wikipedia page, he's much more accomplished than I thought.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Strong


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

cheesesteak said:


> Danny Strong co-created and co-produces this show. I just knew him from Buffy but according to his wikipedia page, he's much more accomplished than I thought.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Strong


Yeah, he's one of Hollywood's most sought-after writers right now. He's had a really good career.


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## tlc (May 30, 2002)

Way too much auto-tune. Dropped it during the second song.


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## jmfreefly (Jan 15, 2015)

vertigo235 said:


> I was surprised how much I liked it, I thought I would hate it and lose interest very quickly. I'll stick around for now.


Hmm.. maybe I should tune in..


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

So the Feds are after Frank Gathers and not Lucious. So who is Frank Gathers?

Nice to see Cuba.

And Naomi Campbell is Hakeem's secret girlfriend. That's going to be interesting.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I know at some point I'm going to get tired of this show but for right now, I'm all in.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

hummingbird_206 said:


> So the Feds are after Frank Gathers and not Lucious. So who is Frank Gathers?
> 
> Nice to see Cuba.
> 
> And Naomi Campbell is Hakeem's secret girlfriend. That's going to be interesting.


Guess we now know who Frank Gathers is.

Loved Cuba last week and hope to see him again. Cookie needs to be loved by someone OTHER than the murderer of her cousin.

Campbell is quite the cougar. Dipping down about 25 years! Woah!

I love the Cookie scenes. Taraji makes me laugh.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Beryl said:


> I love the Cookie scenes. Taraji makes me laugh.


Cookie is the role of a lifetime for Taraji.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

Cookie IS this show.

Without her, meh.

I am still enjoying this - but I will say all the auto-tune is annoying...


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

Beryl said:


> Don't know if there will be a second but the pilot had history-making strong ratings. Glad I DVR'd it because Fox made a lot off of ads.


Second what - episode?

Fox has already renewed it for a second _season_.

IIRC, the current list of Fox renewals is:
_Empire
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Gotham
Bob's Burgers
MasterChef Junior_
and I think _The Simpsons_
(note that this is definitely _Glee_'s last season, and I'm pretty sure it's _Bones_'s as well)
The only reason I don't add _The Mindy Project_ under what I call "88 is the new 100" (i.e. a show with three full seasons is pretty much automatically given a fourth, even if it's in a garbage time slot, so it will have 88 episodes, which, if _Raising Hope_ is anything to go by, is enough for syndication) is, it's produced by NBC/Universal and not 20th Century-Fox, so Fox doesn't have as much incentive to give it a fourth season.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

Another good episode -- directed by John Singleton.

"My name is Cookie. Ask about me. "



She handled business between testifying and running from hitmen.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

Great show. 

"Dead ***** walkin' that's me out here right now". Awesome! I love Cookie (The Cookie Monster!)

I still don't know the oldest son's name, but he and his wife are fun to hate.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Am I the only one who thinks Courtney Love can't sing a lick? She's awful. I wish they had chosen some other "legendary" female artist to be their Billie Holliday.

I 100% expected Annika to return unexpectedly and find Lucious and Cookie getting busy.

Older brother really needs to take his meds. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up killing his wife sometime during this soap opera.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

I cant think of the last time I've enjoyed a soap opera this much.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

Cookie makes the who show for me. I can't stand any of the other characters, but she makes putting up with them worthwhile!


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

What the heck happened to Tiana?

It was kind of odd that Lucious resents his son's white wife but he was getting ready to marry a "fake ass Lena Horne" woman whose skin is just as light. Really, nothing Lucious did in the last episode made much sense.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

The actor who plays Andre delivered a good performance last night. He needs to stay on the meds!


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Was off today and did a binge watch of the 1st 5 episodes. Mostly kept it recording because of what I read here.

Just awesome....


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

Beryl said:


> The actor who plays Andre delivered a good performance last night. He needs to stay on the meds!


He was good, but drunk Cookie was great!

I loved that Porsha was a double agent.


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## justapixel (Sep 27, 2001)

I'm totally shocked at how much I like this show! I've never liked the Dallas soap type shows but this one keeps me coming back. Yeah, it's crazy, it doesn't make a lot of sense but it's very entertaining. The actress who plays Cookie is awesome, no Boo Boo Kitty there!


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## realityboy (Jun 13, 2003)

Beryl said:


> The actor who plays Andre delivered a good performance last night. He needs to stay on the meds!


Yep, I loved it. He was by far my least favorite to watch, but it finally paid off.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I was cracking up when Cookie threw Anika's clothes onto the front lawn. I keep hoping Anika will bust out some kung-fu moves or something because she's always over matched against Cookie. It'd be nice if she could even things up a bit.

I always laugh at the name of Ghetto Ass Studios. Then there's the guy with the never ending bowl of Fruit Loops.

Taraji had better get an Emmy nomination or I'm going to be mad. Cookie is such a wonderful character.

I don't know how Empire could have gotten so big because Lucious is kind of an idiot as a CEO.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

cheesesteak said:


> I don't know how Empire could have gotten so big because Lucious is kind of an idiot as a CEO.


Beretti and then Andre + Attorney

I don't care for the Andre character -- at all -- but he does know how to operate in the ugly music business.


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## frombhto323 (Jan 24, 2002)

This show has gone from being a guilty pleasure to just plain aw-the-hell-with-it pleasure. And yes, Henson better get an Emmy nomination. Just sayin.'


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

So is Jamal the father or is Lucious? I couldn't tell if Lucious made the claim as a distraction, or if he really meant it?

Good for Cookie. Malcolm is sooo cute! 

Camilla didn't take the money, so why did she leave?

Andre and Rhonda have gotten so interesting that I finally remember their names!


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## frombhto323 (Jan 24, 2002)

hummingbird_206 said:


> So is Jamal the father or is Lucious? I couldn't tell if Lucious made the claim as a distraction, or if he really meant it?
> 
> Good for Cookie. Malcolm is sooo cute!
> 
> ...


Lucious is the father. During a flashback, they were at a party where Lucious was playing piano and the mother (can't think of the character's name) and Lucious made suggestive eye contact, and the next thing you know they are going off to find privacy together.

Camilla left without the money because she believes Hakeem will invite her back in after Lucious dies.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

frombhto323 said:


> Lucious is the father. During a flashback, they were at a party where Lucious was playing piano and the mother (can't think of the character's name) and Lucious made suggestive eye contact, and the next thing you know they are going off to find privacy together.


It underscores why he wanted to raise the girl with Cookie.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Catfight!!!

I swear. Lucius Lyon is the worst CEO ever.

Where did Lucius get those opulent gifts he gave his sons on like half a day's notice?

Do Andre and Rhonda have any experience getting rid of dead bodies?

With this being a tv show, I was pretty sure that Lucius hating Jamaal in the beginning of the season meant that they'd be allies by the end of the season. The same with Cookie and Hakeem. I just never expected Jamaal being named CEO in waiting. It doesn't make any sense to me either.

Beretti needs to hire better security for his parties.

The corporate raider's rapping grandson made me laugh.

Catfight!!!

The Remarkable Rise of Empire, in 7 Charts


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

I really like this show, but I do feel the last episode was a bit convoluted in places.

It's almost like they were originally planning for it to be a limited series, with a certain ending, and then it took off and they had to switch things up - which caused a lot of chaos!!!

I could start picking at a lot of the holes, but why bother? It is such a fun ride! As long as there is Cookie, I will be back for more!!!


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

There are a couple of very good Empire articles at vulture.com

The Empire Effect: What We've Learned From Its Phenomenal First Season (and What We Still Don't Know)

The Remarkable Rise of Empire, in 7 Charts


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

So lucky that Cookie walks in right when Lucius in his over the top hallucination, spills the beans on everything he has been up to. 

I did love it when he gave her a pillow as her gift.

I could do without Andre, I was hoping he was going to get killed.

I know this is coming back next season, but will it be in the fall? or another summer run? With the ratings, I bet FOX would like to air it 52 weeks a year


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

I love that right after the catfight their hair was all too perfect...LOL!


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## sushikitten (Jan 28, 2005)

Finally finished. I could watch this show all damn day.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

sushikitten said:


> Finally finished. I could watch this show all damn day.


COOKIE!!!!

I can't wait for it to come back!!!


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

They'll probably mess it up by casting a smart-alek, wise cracking kid or casting too many celebrity cameo roles but I can't wait to see.


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## sushikitten (Jan 28, 2005)

I've also been enjoying the soundtrack. Yeah, I bought it. 

Drip drop is horribly addicting.


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