‘Empire’ Is TV’s Most Ambitious New Drama
Fox’s family-centric hit is also a modern incarnation of The Jazz Singer
February 19, 2015
Scene from ‘Empire’ on Fox. (Facebook)
For those of us who have worked at all in network television (and even those who merely follow it intently) there’s a sort of Holy Grail of series that in this world of diversified entertainment seems increasingly unattainable: a prime-time network drama that is a) actually good, b) not a Law & Order/CSI/SVU spinoff or other procedural of any kind, c) a big fat genuine giant hit. The road to cancellation is paved with noble efforts (Smash, Red Band Society, a large number of other shows with which I didn’t have personal involvement) that somehow went wrong, which is why it’s so satisfying—and envy-inducing—when a big, audacious, original show comes along and finally makes it work (and also makes its audience actually sit through the commercials. Let’s remember who keeps the light on, people.)
That show, my friends, is Empire. And if you’re not watching it, you’re insane.
Created by Danny Strong and Lee Daniels (of Precious and The Butler fame), Empire is the story of paterfamilias Lucious Lyon (Terence Howard), a hip-hop superstar and music mogul. He’s been secretly diagnosed with ALS, which has lent a new urgency to the decision of which of his three sons will inherit the keys to the kingdom—in this case, the chairmanship of Empire Records, the monolithic label that is, quite literally, Lucious’ empire.
Will it be Andre, the staid Wharton grad with a sketchy history of mental-health issues? Hakeem, Lucious’ favorite, a spoiled up-and-coming rap star? Or Jamal, the musical genius and smartest of all, who also—in what is the heart of the show—to Lucious’ unending horror, happens to be gay? Added to the mix is Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie (a ferociously wonderful performance by Taraji P. Henson), who has just served 17 years in prison after taking the fall for the drug deal that initially funded Empire, and is back determined to get what’s coming to her, and especially to Jamal.
It’s heady, fabulous stuff—a big glittery Dynasty-style soap the likes of which we’ve not seen for some time. (A recent episode ended with what might be my favorite line in recent television history: “Even if it means revisiting your past with the Nation of Islam?”) It’s also deeply referential about pop culture in a way that lets you know the writers really know what they’re doing. Much has been made about its similarities in conceit to King Lear: an enfeebled ruler, choosing his heir in all the wrong places. But I’d like to put forward a more daring theory: It’s possible to draw a direct line back in time from Empire to The Jazz Singer.
Think about it: Empire, at heart, has the soul of an immigrant story—Lucious grew up in a world tremendously different than the one he’s made his way into. For the most part, he’s adapted to the world of privilege, but old habits die hard; specifically, his inability to treat Jamal’s homosexuality with the kind of nonchalant indifference one finds in most other members of his adopted social class. (There’s an early, wrenching scene of a young, rough Lucious placing his effeminate toddler in a garbage can in an alley; something, apparently, that Lee Daniels’ father did to him as a boy for the same reason.) Jamal, terrifyingly talented and smart, craves his father’s love and approval, but not at the expense of giving up who he is (the beckoning of fame, however, might be a more tempting censor.)
It’s the eternal conflict between a father refusing to accept something he can’t understand and the son who refuses to accept a fate that is not of his own choosing. Will there be a tearful deathbed reconciliation while Jamal performs a sampled version of ‘Kol Nidre’? I guess you’ll have to tune into see. But for now, rest assured, we’ve found our Jakie Rabinowitz for the 21st century.
Rachel Shukert is the author of the memoirs Have You No Shame? and Everything Is Going To Be Great,and the novel Starstruck. She is the creator of the Netflix show The Baby-Sitters Club, and a writer on such series as GLOW and Supergirl. Her Twitter feed is @rachelshukert.
