Empire

I really hope this series goes all the way to the top and clenches a few awards as they have just been awarded a second season. There are not a lot of shows that can combine African American music history with in a script and still cast musicians that are actors, or at least from my opinion. Empire is about a family business and who will get to take over the family business when the father is no longer there.

The cast is a perfect fit. When Taraji P Henson (Cookie) was approached for the role in this series, she unintentionally stated that the script needed Terence Howard (Lucious Lyon). As it were they are working together and are a force to be reckoned with.  This family of five is facing a power shift as Lucios is dying but before he dies he wants one of his sons to take over the family business, Empire. So all three sons are being tested in varies ways. However it can’t be said that they all started on the same starting line.

The three sons have their own lives and own dynamics to deal with. The eldest Trai Byers (Andre Lyon) is not musical he opted to study and has been handling the books within the business since his university years. He is also married to a blonde white woman, Kaitlin Doubleday (Rhonda Lyon) which makes his ex con mother’s blood boil. The second son Jussie Smollett (Jamal Lyon) is gay and has been shunned by his father all his life. He has decided to lie low in amongst the family drama, until his mother returned and changed all that. The youngest son played by Bryshere Gray (Hakeem Lyon) is the spoilt brat. On his first encounter with Cookie, after she is released from prison, gets a beating of his life. This relationship is going to need some working on but blood is thicker than water so let’s wait and see.

With Lucious having a young new partner the gloves are occasionally on between Miss Cookie and this new leading lady in his life. However Cookie has a great grip on Lucious because of the fact that the company was started on the money she made from drugs. She makes sure he never forgets it.

Several familiar faces feature as cameo roles such as Malik Yoba, Tasha Smith and Naomi Campbell just to mention a few. Without giving too much away the cast has an interesting mixture of talented actors and musicians. I will be watching this series closely to see how well they do in the unpredictable market they find themselves in.