“Empire”: Flawed But Entertaining
That’s what THR says about the premiere tomorrow night of the new TV series. To wit: ‘There’s a lot to like in “Empire,” particularly the ambitious scope of the story that creator Lee Daniels (“The Butler,” “Precious”) and co-creator/writer Danny Strong have mapped out. The music, which is absolutely essential to the series and might have been its make-or-break element, is expertly overseen by Timbaland, who acts as musical director and songwriter. Part of why “Empire” was always an early leader on 2015 mid-season buzz is that there’s so much talent attached to it, from Daniels, Strong and Timbaland to its main stars, Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. Toss in Daniels’ statements about wanting to make a huge soap opera – and calling this his black “Dynasty” – and expectations were always going to be high. The series is set in the music industry and opens when the flamboyant Lucious Lyon (Howard) is already at the top of his game as a mogul, running Empire records and about to take it to the next level.’
