The sixth and final season of the American television drama series ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' premiered on September 24, 2019, in the United States 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''). Twelve sp ...

. The season was ordered on April 30, 2019. The show is produced by

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

, in association with

Imagine Entertainment Imagine Entertainment (formerly Imagine Films Entertainment), also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard. Background Brian Gra ...

, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Danny Strong Productions and Little Chicken Inc. The showrunners for this season are Mahoney,

Danny Strong Daniel William Strong (born June 6, 1974) is an American actor, film and television writer, director, and producer. As an actor, Strong is best known for his roles as Jonathan Levinson in '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and Doyle McMaster in ''Gilm ...

and

Lee Daniels Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was '' Monster's Ball'' (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels ...

Cast and characters

Main cast

Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles ...

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 ...

Cookie Lyon Loretha "Cookie" Lyon (née Holloway) is a fictional character from the American musical drama ''Empire'' on Fox. Portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, Cookie is one of the main characters within the series, the queen bee and the wife of former drug d ...

Bryshere Y. Gray Bryshere Yazuan Gray (born November 28, 1993), also known by the stage name Yazz the Greatest or simply Yazz, is an American actor and rapper, best known for his role as Hakeem Lyon in the Fox primetime musical drama television series ''Empire'' ...

Hakeem Lyon Hakeem Lyon is a fictional character from the original FOX musical drama ''Empire'' played by Bryshere Y. Gray. Hakeem, one of the main characters within the series, is the youngest and once-favorite son of hip-hop mogul Lucious (Terrence Howar ...

Trai Byers Trai Byers (born July 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Andre Lyon in the Fox television series ''Empire'' (2015–2020). Early life Trai Byers was born in Kansas City, Kansas. After a year of high school in Kansas Ci ...

as Andre Lyon *

Gabourey Sidibe Gabourey Sidibe ( ; born May 6, 1983) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the 2009 film '' Precious'', a role that earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, in addition to nominations for the Golden Globe an ...

as Becky Williams *

Ta'Rhonda Jones Ta'Rhonda Jones (born July 12, 1988)"a life less ordinary." ''Soap Opera Digest''. September 28, 2015. pg. 55. is an American actress and rapper who is best known for her recurring role as Porsha Taylor on the FOX television series ''Empire'' an ...

as Porsha Taylor * Serayah as Tiana Brown *

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

as Candace Holloway Mason *

Nicole Ari Parker Nicole Ari Parker Kodjoe (born October 7, 1970) is an American actress and model. She made her screen debut with a leading role in the critically acclaimed independent film ''The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love'' (1995) and went on ...

as Giselle Sims *

Meta Golding Meta Golding is a Haitian-American actress. Life and career Golding was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Her parents were international aid workers and she was raised in several countries. Besides the United States, Golding also lived in India, H ...

as Teri Lyon * A.Z. Kelsey as Jeff Kingsley *

Rhyon Nicole Brown Rhyon Nicole Brown (; born October 6, 1992) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Career She made her film debut in ''Santa & Pete'' (1999) And has since appeared in various television shows. Brown has had recurring roles on shows such as ...

as Maya *

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

as Devon * Katlynn Simone as Treasure *

Wood Harris Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He has portrayed the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama ''The Wire'', cocaine dealer Ace in '' Paid in Full'' and high school football player Julius Campbe ...

as Damon Cross

Guest cast

Alexandra Grey Alexandra Grey (born January 4, 1991), also known by her stage name Alexa Grey is an American actress, singer, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her roles as Melody Barnes on the Fox music drama series ''Empire'' (2015–2020), E ...

as Melody Barnes * Kiandra Richardson as Yana Cross *

Amanda Detmer Amanda Jeannette Detmer is an American actress. She made her big screen debut playing Miss Minneapolis in 1999 comedy film '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'', and later had a supporting role in ''Final Destination''. In early 2000s, Detmer had starring r ...

as Tracy Kingsley *

Tasha Smith Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971) is an American actress, director and producer. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series ''Boston Common'' (1996–97), and she later appeared in numerous movies and television series. ...

as Carol Holloway *

Skylan Brooks Skylan Brooks (born February 12, 1999) is an American actor, best known for playing Mister in ''The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete''. Early life Brooks was born in Torrance, California. Career In 2013, Brooks played the titular role of ...

as Quincy *

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ban ...

as Philly Street *Veronika Bozeman as Veronica *

Keesha Sharp Keesha Ulricka Sharp ( née Fletch; born June 9, 1973) is an American actress and film / television director. She began her career appearing on television dramas, before her regular role as Monica Charles Brooks in the UPN/The CW comedy series, ...

as Dr. Paula Wick *

Robert Ri'chard Robert Andrew Ri'chard (born January 7, 1983) is an American television and film actor, known for his roles as Arnaz Ballard on the UPN sitcom '' One on One'' and Bobby Walker on the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Cousin Skeeter''. Early life Ri'chard was ...

as Julian Sims *

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...

as Leah Walker *

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Va ...

as Uncle Ray *

Kash Doll Arkeisha Antoinette Knight, known professionally as Kash Doll, is an American rapper and actress from Detroit, Michigan. Signed to Republic Records, she is best known for her singles "For Everybody" (2017) and "Ice Me Out" (2018), the latter o ...

as herself

Episodes

Production

After allegations that Smollett staged his own attack, on April 30, 2019, it was announced that although Fox Entertainment had extended his contract for season six, there were no plans for the character to appear during the season. On June 4, 2019, series co-creator Lee Daniels officially announced that Smollett would not be returning for the sixth and final season. On September 3, 2019, it was announced Katlynn Simone,

and

had been promoted to series regulars for the final season. In April 2020, it was confirmed that the series would conclude with its 18th episode, instead of the 20th, which was originally set to be the series finale. Episode 18 was the final episode that had completed production before the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused Hollywood productions to be shut down. Footage from the uncompleted nineteenth episode was included in the final aired version of the eighteenth episode in an attempt to provide closure.

Reception

Ratings

References

External links

* {{Empire 2019 American television seasons 2020 American television seasons Empire (2015 TV series) seasons Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic