With the series finale of Fox’s Empire, which aired on April 21, so ends one of the most influential shows on television. Sadly, Empire never got the finale creators intended. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, production on the series shut down in the middle of episode 19 of season six. The unproduced episode 20 was supposed to be the finale. The producers had no choice but to end the series with episode 18, adding some footage that was filmed for episode 19. While there is some hope that the intended series finale may be filmed one day, for now we say goodbye to Empire.
Now, as fans look back at the series, there are plenty of surprising facts you may not know. And learning these things may completely transform how you look at these actors and characters. We’ve got the full scoop on the untold truth of Empire.
It’s Basically Lee Daniels’ Life
One of the biggest secrets about the show is also one of the most heartbreaking. Lee Daniels (who is the co-creator, executive producer, and director for the show) based much of Empire on his own life.
For instance, the show features a heartbreaking scene in the first episode where Lucious shoves his five-year-old son Jamal into a garbage can. He did so because he was enraged to find Jamal wearing his mother’s shoes.
According to Daniels, that happened to him and is his earliest memory. When he was five and came downstairs wearing his mother’s shoes, his father shoved him in the garbage and told Lee he “would never be nothing.”
Inspired By Shakespearean Tragedies
Not all of the inspirations for the show come from personal tragedies. Some, instead, come from literary tragedies!
Empire has several different inspirations, one of which is the famous Shakespeare tragedy King Lear. Another more direct inspiration is The Lion in Winter, a broadway-play-turned-movie. That story is all about a king trying to decide who should be heir to the throne, with him favoring one son and his wife favoring another.
While Empire adds many wrinkles, you can certainly see the DNA it shares with these earlier stories.
Secret Buffy the Vampire Slayer Connection
Here’s a fun fact: Empire has a secret connection to the hit show Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
No, we’re not talking about vampires running around Philadelphia (which, incidentally, is actually Chicago in the show). But we wouldn’t have Empire at all without Danny Strong, who played the supporting Buffy character Jonathan.
While he is a memorable actor, it turns out he is also an insanely-talented writer. He wrote The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and HBO’s Game Change (the latter earning him an Emmy). After Strong wrote the screenplay for Lee Daniels’ The Butler, he and Daniels ended up creating Empire together.
A Real Ratings Empire
When we say Empire was a ratings powerhouse, we mean it. Among other things, this show has pulled off a trick that is nearly impossible in modern television. Most shows lose viewers after the pilot episode. Basically, plenty of people tune in out of curiosity and then many of them inevitably tune out.
Empire, though, kept growing throughout the first season. The pilot had an impressive 9.9 million people watching, but the first season finale had a staggering 17.6 million viewers!
Of course, the series could not maintain these ratings throughout its entire run. The series finale was down to 2.9 million viewers.
Lee Daniels wouldn’t let Terrence Howard keep his perm
Speaking of TV pilots, a lot of things usually seem out of place when you go back and watch the first episode. That’s because actors and creators alike haven’t figured out everything yet. And the best example of this is Terrence Howard’s hair!
In the pilot, Howard is rocking a perm. Lee Daniels instantly hated it, but Howard defended the hair by saying his character would idolize people like Prince and James Brown and wear his hair accordingly.
Daniels wasn’t convinced by this argument and made Howard change his hair by the very next episode.
The Many Inspirations for Cookie
Sometimes, TV characters have direct inspiration. For example, Elle Dallas is based on Whitney Houston. But for the popular character of Cookie, there were many different inspirations.
For co-creator Lee Daniels, the big inspiration for Cookie was Joan Collins from Dynasty!, with a healthy dose of family inspiration thrown in there. For Cookie actress Taraji P. Henson, though, she was actually inspired by her dad, and attributes some of Cookie’s weirder phrases (like “goat ass”) to her father.
Meanwhile, Cookie’s looks often come from script consultant Monique Mosley. She has plenty of weird garments in her own closet that she lends for Cookie, and Daniels has allegedly said she is the real-life Cookie!
Real Singing Chops
Empire is a show based around a fictional record label, so it’s no surprise how much music is in the show. One thing that may surprise you, though, is that nothing is fictional about these stars’ musical chops!
Back before he made all the wrong kinds of headlines, Jussie Smollett signed a deal with Columbia Records based on his singing (though the deal eventually fell through). And Bryshere Y. Gray (who players rapper Hakeem Lyon in the show) is also the real deal. He has a Columbia Records deal and has opened for acts like 2 Chainz.
And while they may not have record deals, many of the performers are also singers, including Taraji P. Henson. Is it any wonder that American Idol producers dreamed of a crossover between the shows?
Wesley Snipes Was Nearly Cast Instead of Terrence Howard
In Empire, Terrence Howard regularly turned in jaw-dropping performances. And at this point, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role of Lucious Lyon.
Nonetheless, that nearly happened! Co-creator Lee Daniels was very close to casting legendary actor Wesley Snipes in the role. So, how did Howard get the part? Just like with many episodes, “Cookie” had to put her foot down!
By this point, Taraji P. Henson was already cast as Cookie. She told Lee Daniels she wouldn’t play the role unless it was alongside Terrence Howard. Daniels agreed to her terms and the rest is Empire history!