Sunday, January 18, 2015

TV review: Empire

Mid season/winter premieres for new and popular shows are often very exciting. Thus far, one of the best new television dramas is Empire on FOX.

One would think at an initial glance that this is another cliche' music drama. Heck in the past we have had flops such as Platinum, and current shows such as Love and Hip Hop. However, this show stands head and shoulders above all those before it. Empire is compelling, with great singing, acting and crisp storylines.

The show centers around music mogul Lucious Lyons (Terence Howard) and his family which includes his fiery ex wife Cookie (Tarajji P. Henson) and their three adult sons. Just as his record label is set to go public, Lucious is diagnosed with a terminal illness and must choose one of his seed to run the empire. His eldest, Andre, is your straight laced, preppy, business type. The middle son, Jamal (Cookie's favorite) is homosexual and has a smooth voice similar to Maxwell or John Legend. The baby boy, Hakeem, is a rambunctious, controversial rapper.

All of this is a good formula for an hour drama. It seems people can't get enough of these types of shows and I can see why. When you follow them from the beginning, they are easier to appreciate and keep up with because all of the storylines unfold in front of you and you're not playing catch up.

So do yourself a favor, give ABC's Wednesday night comedic lineup a break and tune into Empire, 9pm on your local FOX station. There can definitely be something about this show that you can love.

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