The first season of the American television series ''
Empire'' premiered on January 7, 2015, and concluded on March 18, 2015, on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
. 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.
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.
Cast and characters
Main cast
*
Terrence Howard as
Lucious Lyon
Lucious Lyon (born Dwight Walker) is a fictional character from the Fox drama series ''Empire'', portrayed by Terrence Howard. Lucious is the main protagonist and anti-hero of the series. Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, Lucious is the fo ...
*
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in '' Baby Boy'' (2001). Sh ...
as
Cookie Lyon
*
Bryshere Y. Gray as
Hakeem Lyon
*
Jussie Smollett as
Jamal Lyon
Jamal Joseph Lyon is a fictional character from the American musical drama, ''Empire'' on Fox. Portrayed by Jussie Smollett, Jamal is the middle son of hip-hop mogul Lucious (Terrence Howard) and his wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). Jamal, a talen ...
*
Trai Byers as
Andre Lyon
*
Grace Gealey as Anika Calhoun
*
Malik Yoba as Vernon Turner
*
Kaitlin Doubleday as Rhonda Lyon
Recurring cast
Guest appearances
Production
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.]
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
''Empire'' was well received by critics, with most praising Taraji's performance as Cookie. On Rotten Tomatoes the show got a rating of 80% fresh based on 49 reviews.
Live + SD ratings
Live + 7 Day (DVR) ratings
References
{{Empire
2015 American television seasons
Empire (2015 TV series) seasons
Television series set in 1998
Television series set in the 2000s