Country of origin United States Original network Fox | No. of episodes 12 | |
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Starring Terrence Howard
Bryshere Y. Gray
Jussie Smollett
Trai Byers
Grace Gealey
Malik Yoba
Kaitlin Doubleday
Taraji P. Henson Original release January 7 (2015-01-07) – March 18, 2015 (2015-03-18) | ||
The first season of the American television series Empire premiered on January 7, 2015, and concluded on March 18, 2015, on Fox. The series centers around a hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders' family as they fight for control. The show aired on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm ET. The season consisted of 12 episodes.
Contents
The first episode was watched by 9.90 million viewers and achieved an adult 18-49 rating/share of 3.8/11, making it the biggest series launch for the network since Touch premiered in 2012. The viewership of the series rose every single week, with the season finale, which aired on March 18, 2015, being watched by 17.62 million viewers and achieving an adult 18-49 rating/share of 6.9/21.
Premise
The show centers around a hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders' family as they fight for control of the company.
Main cast
Casting
Howard was cast in the lead on February 19, 2014. Henson was named as the female lead on February 26, and Jussie Smollett was announced in a starring role. Howard and Henson previously starred together as love interests in the film Hustle & Flow. On March 10, 2014, Sidibe, who had previously worked with Daniels in Precious, was cast in a recurring role as Becky, Lucious' assistant. Trai Byers and Grace Gealey were announced in regular roles, while Bryshere Y. Gray and Malik Yoba were announced in starring roles. Courtney Love was added to the cast on October 23. Naomi Campbell was announced in a recurring role on September 29.
Broadcasting
Empire was well received by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the show got a rating of 80% fresh based on 49 reviews.