That's EXACTLY what happened to me! No lie. Plus it got too weird/goofy for me after season 3 or 4 which is why when I missed that episode or 2 I said fuck it.
That's EXACTLY when it jumped the shark. It was never a well-written show, but it was always a fun one. But only Game of Thrones had a bigger tumble into irrelevancy (and GOT came back w/a vengeance w/HOTD).
Empire was definitely a product of its time. It was during the Black TV Renaissance where you had Scandal, Blackish, Insecure, Orange is the New Black, How to Get Away with murder.. where black characters were at the center of the show.. I remember enjoying it during the time and then somewhat being pulled away from it because there were too many drawn out and not interesting plot lines that strayed away from the essence of what the show was about. You’re right it only needed 2/3 seasons. I was tired of the back and forth with Cookie and Luscious geez ha😅
I was on this show and stood in for Terrence Howard and Jussie. Every time i was on set, it was chaotic. Longest we worked was 18 hours during some party scene. Shit was wild
Yeah. It’s a tv show. How many long running shows have consequences to most plots? Look at almost every sitcom as an example. Sometimes there’s a wedding or death. But most times every episode ends going back to stuff being normal
The show peaked at season 3 for me. The continuation of of dysfunctional family is not entertaining. It’s like they kept getting more and more dysfunctional.
The dysfunction is what drew ppl in. There's only 3 options from there...bring it down, try & keep it the same or up it. Definitely can't bring it down. Trying to keep it the same is almost impossible to do so the only logical play is to up it ever so slightly to keep it from going off the rails. Also a very fine line. Personally, I just finished watching the whole series on tubi for the first time after being an initial fan during it's original run but stopped watching it after season 3 or 4. I remember Empire was battling 50 cents Power show on Starz for popularity. Lol I was a big fan of both & an avid watcher of both at the time but Power kept my interest throughout its initial run & STILL does whenever I can catch the original episodes. Empire got too weird/dysfunctional or goofy, whatever you wanna call it, for me. Now that I finished the series I can say yeah, I didn't miss much. I'm glad it ended on a good note tho...aside from the whole Jussie Smollett scandal.
@@JECZ23 People did not tune in solely for the dysfunction, therefore, he did not have to amp it up. I’ve spoken to many ppl who stopped watching because of it. I remember ppl stating Daniels do not know how to write a functional Black family and it shows.
@@sweetbabyboo5 I don't disagree with you as I feel that I lost interest for mainly the reason. But I didn't say the dysfunction was the ONLY reason that ppl tuned in. It was a major factor but not the only factor.
Girll tell me about it… got the same women pregnant who not only killed his unborn niece or nephew she’s also a enemy of his mother this family straight from ell…
It wasn't random. It common for TV shows that have culture significance. We saw it in the 1980s with shows like Dynasty and Miami Vice, and in the 90s with The Cosby Show.
instead of twitter everyone in my class (mind you we were elementary kids) was always talking about each new episode every week 24/7 😭 fun but crazy to look back on lmaoo
I'm weak because watching this makes me realize that Succession is just a white, better written version of Empire. But all of it was inspired by King Lear, which is why they really should've kept the Lucius being sick plotline.
Wrong, wrong wrong. I can see why you think that but the subject matter went far beyond family dynamics and the King Lear inspiration, but it took on US politics, the media, and the dangers of the existence of billionaires. The show very directly drew from the Murdock family and predicted this past election. Empire never had that kind of insight which is why it couldn't keep an audience.
I did an empire rewatch and I can tell you people collectively stopped watching after s4 finale. What’s funny is seeing how it completely gave up attempting to be taken seriously those last two seasons haha.
Cookie annoyed tf out of me. She got tiring by season 3. Watching her pine for Lucius after he left her for dead and divorced her and was ready to marry another woman was insane. Despite how strong they tried to write Cookie she was a very weak character. I couldn’t take any more of her after a while.
I think the fact that they basically raised each other, was the first man she’s really been with even after jail, got married, had 3 kids etc played a huge part as why she couldn’t let Lucious go.
@@mazelovesosa I understand the factors at play but nah lol they didn’t raise each other Lucius turned Cookie out when she was like 15/16. She wasn’t from the hood running the streets, he was. Remember when her sisters called her out on it in season 1 or 2. And again he LEFT HER IN JAIL after she took the wrap FOR HIM. I’m not saying she can’t have some residual feelings for him, but wanting to be WITH him to the point she fought Anika is insane to me.
They should have kept her w/Malcolm and had that dynamic w/him and Lucious (even if he wound up killing him if he was going to remain evil). They (Terrence Howard and Derek Luke) are both great actors, and it's not lost on me that Malcolm was the ONLY one of Cookie's lovers that Lucious didn't try to fuck with.
As a musician the one element that had me pull my hair out is they never once showed any of the Lyon boys on tour. Touring is a acts most lucrative venture and the best way to vibe with their audience. Not, radio, not TV, not local gigs, but hitting the road, hitting multiple stages, and showing your talent to the world.
My theory on the ALS storyline: Terrence Howard still had (somewhat) of a film career, and he was shooting another TV show (Wayward Pines) at the same time he started Empire. I think they were gonna use the ALS thing, to kill him off the show, just in case Howard wouldn’t fully be able to commit to the show long term, due to other projects and opportunities. Once they knew the show was a hit, that’s when TH decided to fully commit to the show, and they saved his character
My friend and I devoured this show for three seasons. Then we got annoyed by season 4 and forgot about it. The music from season 1 just chef kiss perfection. I still have a playlist for it.
28:38 is a quite accurate outlook on mental health/mental illness that many black people still have, especially older black people. cookie saying this is very in-character and makes sense.
My theory is that lucious was actually bipolar which is why we seen him bounce back and forth between being a good person and being psychotic. It makes sense that they never mentioned it in the show because they didn't believe in things like bipolarism .
Season one was good because they modeled it after Shakespere's King Lear. They had a guide for the first season, then they crashed without the training wheels.
This show just kept jumping the shark. First, it was campy & cute. But when Cookie showed up in the gorilla suit at the top of season 2, and then later on in the series, Lucious grew those long hotep locs in one season, I just gave up 😭😭
EMPIRE needed a proper plot and character progression and constant support characters, especially consistent antagonists. After awhile I felt like the story was going in circles and there was a villain with the same motivation and goals each season.
Dianna Dubois was the perfect antagonist/foil to our lead characters. The show didn’t know how to cultivate a season-long antagonist that didn’t wanna “take over Empire records” or whatever. Our villains could’ve been drug-connects, politicians, or rival record label executives. What if Lucious and Cookie were forced to clean drug money through the label and their connect broke bad because of a dispute. So much un-mined potential from this series
That a Lyon will fall shit pissed me off when they said that like three times. Even the dude on the season finale trailers sounded irritated about lying 😂
I have literally been looking for a video talking about what the phenomenon that Empire was in it's day all over TH-cam, and boom, here you are on my feed. Incredible video 😂🔥
Not really...it really is a forgotten show when you think of how popular it was at the time. I remember ppl debating which show was better...Empire or Power at the time. That was a thing. Lol
This show was THAT show. But then the writers became insanely exploitative and just plain bad, having people dying and then coming back to life. Lucious and Andre having terminal illnesses and then healthy again. Exploitating drug addiction, romanticizing abuse, misogyny, homophobia, sexism, it goes on and on. 😭
Blame that mostly on Lee Daniels an openly guy man and creator of the show.....Now we got all these terrible black Empire wanna be shows from the other gay creator Tyler Perry.
I thought Phylicia Rashad’s inclusion into the series was fantastic. I know you think her character “went crazy” because the plot demanded it, but her character was so deliciously evil and chewed away the scenery. Also, she was a perfect foil to the Lyons, as she saw them as “ghetto” or low-brow…It definitely was a gradual, slow build into villainy.
I’ve never seen one episode of Empire but I know all the words to Drip Drop…black social media ripped that song apart and I was just in my little corner, getting my life and shimmying.
Star deserved another season and more tbh. Empire should’ve had a cross over with star, to make the show bigger and connect some kind of way. I would love to see the magic it creates … maybe a few episodes with the crossover. Also empire deserved a better last season and last finale.
I remember my 3 roommates and I used to binge this on off days. I’d cook dinner and we all sit down to watch for the evening. At some point, we all collectively stopped suggesting Empire as what we wanted to watch that day and forgot about it somewhere in season 4. Whenever it was Lucious lost his memory 🤣🤣
I love maiyah & Hakeem n I love takeem even thoe he has put her thru a lot I feel like maiyah would end up pregnant but he would leave her n end up getting back with T unless tiana ends up fully les
28:43 To be fair, for the most part, this is pretty accurate. There is still a lot of stigma around black health (specially mental health) within the community. I have cases in my family, and everyone just refuses to acknowledge them, specially the older generation
Thank you for making this comment. Even if black families do acknowledge mental health they try to keep it secret and/or have a "pray it away" attitudes. They're so worried about how it will make them look publicly they don't have issues. My sister's been suffering from poor mental health for half a decade & my parents refuses to do anything about it because they don't want anyone to find out & just ignore what she's going through unless she does something that affects them directly🙄
Currently dealing with this at home. My mother needs assistance, as her dementia his worsening, yet nobody in the family wants to do anything about it, because to them it isn’t real. 😩
The only reason i remember this show is because of the “except a bullet!” scene. It was such a ridiculously goofy yet iconic line, it basically became like a family meme. We still yell “Except a bullet!” whenever we think a character in any show will be randomly betrayed.
Empire to me, and I always say should've ended after season 3. That season had the perfect rap up to all the family drama and chaos, then they had to ruin it with the car bomb and Lucious losing his memory
Not really his character came and went a small portion of the show itself how is him in the show a fail when he’s an amazing person n actor in real life make it make sense y’all seen will smack him now y’all think y’all know him and don’t like him Chris rock is that dude frl
The best song of the show is You're so beautiful not only for its many iterations but also how those different remixes of the song thell the song while being fully pop
@@STACEYXRENEE Lucious sang a song about Cookie when he went to jail called Snitch Bitch and the song was not very flattering so I was asking what song about Cookie are you talking about
S1 of Empire was such an unprecedented phenomenon, every week was gains after gains. I think the quick resolution of Lucious' sickness was due to the creators believing they wouldn't get a S2 and wanted to give the fans a full arc. If the money behind the show had've given them strong backing where they had the belief they could possibly have three seasons we might've had a proper plotline.
I’ve noticed that with many shows in other countries are written intentionally for 2 or 3 seasons. That way it usually all fits. As opposed to here where shows are written a few episodes at a time bc it could be cancelled anytime. Thus the show starts HOT bc season 1 is planned. Then if they get a second season they never thought that far ahead
I mean tbh the reverse happens to where people plan out multiple seasons, get cancelled and the fans of the show never get a conclusion because the writer had a multi season plan. Generally I am a fan of make a good season and always close on an ending. If the characters are good, people come back and life is never truly resolved so you can make another good complete story the next season.
This show was SO much fun up until around season 5 for me. It was the most dramatic black soap opera I saw until The Haves and The Have-Nots. I was obsessed with the silly plotlines. Ngl, Lucious' bipoloar mom was such a funny character. Like she got me into full blown belly laughs... like when she tried to feed Demi Moore that glass like it was nothing. 😂😂 She was wild.
Nah, I loved Empire to the end. PERIODT! But it pissed me off that they axed Star to focus on Empire's final season. Star left us hanging and I'd watch it right now if they brought it back.
His DEAD mom at that!!! Leslie Uggams was terrific, but how come she was walking around publicly as if Lucious hadn't spent his entire career saying the woman was DEAD!?
My absolute favorite song from the show is You’re So Beautiful! Jamal’s performance was so good! Then when he came out to everyone and Cookie shouted JAMAAAAALLL!!!! I was jumping like I was there with them! I really loved this show and I wish that Jussie could have found a better way to deal with whatever he was facing.
The only thing I like about empire is the nostalgia it gives me. When I was pregnant I rewatched the entire show. I had such a good time laughing at how bad it was and just remembering where I was when this show was airing.
Man I'm glad someone is talking about this show. I was a huge fan of the show at the time and just remember never finishing it. The music really was fire though
First season was definitely the best! What is Love made me cry😂😂 thats still my song along with a couple of Jussie's hits. Once Lucious grew locks out of nowhere I was done
This. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Except I can’t put my finger on who cookie would be portraying. But Everyone else is spot on, down to having a baby lol
this show was a mess. I tried going back to finish the last season, but I couldn't... it was too dark. the entire show was depressing and stressful to watch. I watch tv to escape, not to experience a worse life than my own!
The problem with the last season was they had too many characters they were trying to give stories to and they knew they needed to wrap up everything. Even if it wasn't for COVID not letting us get the last two episodes, it still wouldn't have ended decently.
39:44 I randomly turned the show on one day, watched like the first whole season and then stopped somewhere in the middle of the second season when I got bored. Then never watched it again 😅
True Star was the better show that actually hot better and maintained that quality I would havebliked s final season at least Fox getting acquired by Disney caused the cancellation of many good shows
In season 1 Anika was a snake and cookie was a lioness and saw right past Anika’s bull- Anika always get in cookies business and whenever her and Lucious try to reunite, she always interrupts. She also had drugged an ex empire artist who cookie worked a lot to help her get clean and sober. She also decided to get revenge on Lucious after he cheated on her with his baby mama, she cheated on him with his own son. Which was really crazy. She should’ve just left him or cheated with someone else who wasn’t blood. Especially since he was once her step son and he was only 19, while she was in her 30s.
The problem for me was it was too grim, and awful, it was just a show about bad people screwing over other bad people. Didn’t help there was no one to root for
@@Because-rt8qs technically luscious is the protagonist. But he’s a villain protagonist. There’s just no altruistic force to bring him down for the greater good. There was a cop in season 1, but I don’t remember what happened with him
i know quite literally nothing about this show, so this is very informative lmao. It’s the type of show that i would always see the posters and be like oh i guess this is still going. That and nashville. Musical shows really lmao
it’s like i missed one episode & never went back idk 😂😂😂
This!
Me too don't even remember where or when I thought it ended that day I stopped. I was surprised to hear him say season six.
That's EXACTLY what happened to me! No lie. Plus it got too weird/goofy for me after season 3 or 4 which is why when I missed that episode or 2 I said fuck it.
Me too
Same 😭 last thing I remember Jamal was messing with that dl rapper 😂😂
Empire was a phenomenon that caught the creators by surprise that was only to be a limited series with one season.
I think it would’ve been better had it stayed a limited show or intentionally created to be 2-3 seasons
2, 3 seasons max.after season 2 it went nut!!
Makes sense, can't really have a cohesive series if you only planned one part of it
@@Eazzyb15 1-3 last good seasons soon as Lucious lost his memory (terrible)💯
It would make no sense to be a limited series. That sounds ridiculous.
This show was like crack when it came out. We were feening for new episodes to drop
😂😂
Yup every Wednesday lol i remember we all gathered around the TV room in college to watch!
@@lifewithdq1923 yeah and Star too
Real lmao. I started watching when some lady fell on top of a car and I've never felt so intrigued 😭😭
Drip drop drip drippity drop
Lucious was clearly inspired by Diddy 😂, I kept thinking you were going to say it
It was definitely a mix between Jay Z and P Diddy
Remember how Sean Combs wanted to sue the creators of the show because he thought the show was about him???
@@guru_basketball_kiero the audacity. Given the fact regarding what he was ACTUALLY doing
@@bpatcweredabomb2076 Mr.Combs dry-snitched on himself
When did Lucious do any of the terrible things P. Diddy has been accused of doing?
Jucy Smollett really pulled a page out of the Empire script and ran down a dark alley with it.
lololol
💀
He’s a joke
I’m so happy you all don’t call that man by his real first name 😂
"Shut your Frank Ocean wanna be ass up" 😂😂 that actually made me laugh
Honestly 😂😂😂
One of my favourite quotables from the show since it aired 😭
😂
That whole scene had me dying 😂😂😂. and Lucious still wanted to keep airing it out there
That was actually funny 😂
The problem is that everything happened in the first season and they couldnt keep up afterwards
Exactly
Good point
There was plenty to be done with the characters they created, they just stopped caring
Yeah cause I think I stopped watching mid season 2 it started getting boring to me.
@@evaphillips2102also true
The moment chris rock showed up as a cannibal in prison was the moment i tapped out 😂
Tim Meadows did it better in Brooklyn Nine Nine.
Wait that was human meat?😀💀
im sorry? what?
Excuuuuuse me?😭😭😭
That's EXACTLY when it jumped the shark. It was never a well-written show, but it was always a fun one. But only Game of Thrones had a bigger tumble into irrelevancy (and GOT came back w/a vengeance w/HOTD).
Empire was definitely a product of its time. It was during the Black TV Renaissance where you had Scandal, Blackish, Insecure, Orange is the New Black, How to Get Away with murder.. where black characters were at the center of the show.. I remember enjoying it during the time and then somewhat being pulled away from it because there were too many drawn out and not interesting plot lines that strayed away from the essence of what the show was about. You’re right it only needed 2/3 seasons. I was tired of the back and forth with Cookie and Luscious geez ha😅
Turns out, it was ahead of its time cause if this ain’t giving Diddy vibes idk what is
U gotta include power in that list too. Ironically also, most of these shows had about the same number of seasons, 6-7
@@aaroncornish9955my brother said the same thing😂. Lucious might as well be Diddy, and his kids are quincy and everyone else
@ I knew I was forgetting a show lol
There were black centered show way before these shows lol. Bad example but bill Cosby ? Fresh prince of bel air, and so on
I was on this show and stood in for Terrence Howard and Jussie. Every time i was on set, it was chaotic. Longest we worked was 18 hours during some party scene. Shit was wild
can you possibly give us behind scenes? 😭
Yo!! Tell us more , this is the really juice
Yea I know some people who were on the G&E team for it. Sounded truly brutal for the crew.
the problem with Empire is that there were no consequences to plots so it was just a typical soap drama with an interesting outline
Let's not forget all these label-hopping artists who apparently NEVER signed contracts.
Yeah, it kinda reminded me of the original Gossip Girl that way. People would be enemies for 3 episodes and then be besties a few eps later.
It's kinda funny that they were building up to Lucious dying in the final season but pivoted at the last minute because Jussie killed the show.
@@GillianRosheuvel it very much reminds me of gossip girl in a bad way too lmaoo
Yeah. It’s a tv show. How many long running shows have consequences to most plots? Look at almost every sitcom as an example. Sometimes there’s a wedding or death. But most times every episode ends going back to stuff being normal
When the eldest son started talking to his wife’s ghost I was out ✌🏽
😂😂😂
😂😂same
SAME
The what??
Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The show peaked at season 3 for me. The continuation of of dysfunctional family is not entertaining. It’s like they kept getting more and more dysfunctional.
It’s almost as if it ran too long
The dysfunction is what drew ppl in. There's only 3 options from there...bring it down, try & keep it the same or up it. Definitely can't bring it down. Trying to keep it the same is almost impossible to do so the only logical play is to up it ever so slightly to keep it from going off the rails. Also a very fine line. Personally, I just finished watching the whole series on tubi for the first time after being an initial fan during it's original run but stopped watching it after season 3 or 4. I remember Empire was battling 50 cents Power show on Starz for popularity. Lol I was a big fan of both & an avid watcher of both at the time but Power kept my interest throughout its initial run & STILL does whenever I can catch the original episodes. Empire got too weird/dysfunctional or goofy, whatever you wanna call it, for me. Now that I finished the series I can say yeah, I didn't miss much. I'm glad it ended on a good note tho...aside from the whole Jussie Smollett scandal.
@@jahleillewis1743 It did. Should have been a mini series.
@@JECZ23 People did not tune in solely for the dysfunction, therefore, he did not have to amp it up. I’ve spoken to many ppl who stopped watching because of it. I remember ppl stating Daniels do not know how to write a functional Black family and it shows.
@@sweetbabyboo5 I don't disagree with you as I feel that I lost interest for mainly the reason. But I didn't say the dysfunction was the ONLY reason that ppl tuned in. It was a major factor but not the only factor.
When the youngest son got his stepmom pregnant, it took me out the game all together😂
Omg lmfao
Wait, what?!
@@justjoannak yeah idk
Girll tell me about it… got the same women pregnant who not only killed his unborn niece or nephew she’s also a enemy of his mother this family straight from ell…
What!?
I was INVESTED in this show then I missed literally 1 episode and never watched it again 💀
It’d be hilarious if we all missed the same episode but I didn’t even make it to season 3 😂
Same and when I thought i was going back to catch up the jussie situation happened and I never did
It lost me with the Jamal baby momma drama with Lucious (sp?) Ex, and way too much singing, and somewhere i just went - i am so bored
I forgot how many celebrity "characters" there were 😭😭 It was so random
It wasn't random. It common for TV shows that have culture significance. We saw it in the 1980s with shows like Dynasty and Miami Vice, and in the 90s with The Cosby Show.
It was Naomi Campbell for me.
@@Ttom966 which was the best thing cause it led to the spinoff that was better than this
@@awesumtoast97if you’re talking about star you’re wrong it’s not a spin off and Naomi plays a completely different person
@ there’s a spin off ??
Watching that first season with everyone on Twitter was truly insanely fun.
Made that show much more entertaining 😄😄😄
Twitter used to be so much fun 😂
A phenomenon that will never be recreated.
Created a twitter without my moms knowing just to talk about this show 😂🤣 good times…
instead of twitter everyone in my class (mind you we were elementary kids) was always talking about each new episode every week 24/7 😭 fun but crazy to look back on lmaoo
my mind cannot comprehend that empire is almost a decade old
🤯🤯
Man, I was in high school back then.
@@thehevandragonme too man holy hell 😂
so was power the shows were running around the same time
Yooo I was in middle school and yeah, it really was everywhere. Last thingi heard about it was when that one guy faked a hate crime or soemthing.
Remember during Season 1 that Sean Combs wanted to sue the creators of the show because he thought the show was about him.....
Ironic
Bahahaha! That’s the most Sean combs thing I ever heard
I'm weak because watching this makes me realize that Succession is just a white, better written version of Empire. But all of it was inspired by King Lear, which is why they really should've kept the Lucius being sick plotline.
Wrong, wrong wrong. I can see why you think that but the subject matter went far beyond family dynamics and the King Lear inspiration, but it took on US politics, the media, and the dangers of the existence of billionaires. The show very directly drew from the Murdock family and predicted this past election. Empire never had that kind of insight which is why it couldn't keep an audience.
Empire was on top of my middle school era in 2014-15😂 everybody used to be tuned in and playing the soundtracks
I swear they did. I'll take a walk to the store you'll hear it bumping in somebody car.
No one played them damn songs
@@MrAjking808 shiiiiiiit where u stay at
😂😂😂@@MrAjking808
Thats so funny because thats when i graduated high school
When Jamal says “I’m a man” it reminds me of that one SpongeBob scene when he held up that razor and said “I.. am a man”😭
Thats when SpongeBob was funny asf 😂😂 until they completely dumb it down after the SpongeBob movie.But that's another topic
😂😂😂😂😂
“A man who’s gay. You like niggas get that through your head” is what I thought of😭😭
@@brandonbates9259 after the movie there was some interesting episodes like the squidward episode
I did an empire rewatch and I can tell you people collectively stopped watching after s4 finale. What’s funny is seeing how it completely gave up attempting to be taken seriously those last two seasons haha.
exactly
The ratings dipped well before season 4. Season 1 ended with 17 million viewers. Season 3 ended with 6 million.
Jussie's incident and situation was a major factor, as well.
@@EdSmith313 That controversy happened well after Empire started falling in the ratings. It just stopped being a fun show to watch.
S3!!!
When cookie took that baseball bat and destroyed Empires office and went upside Lucious head was one of my favorite scenes.
"Drip. Drop. Drippity drop." Is what i think about whenever i see the guy who plays Hakeem.
Fun fact about Andre dawg can sing in real life and Anika is his wife
Wow… didn’t know that
So the choking scene was more than just a choking scene?
@@prod.byjoker3778 LOL
I thought Andre was gay
His rendition of superstar is on my playlist 😂 he can sing better than Jamal to me
I adore when Jamal had a rap battle with a dude came there and basically called a gangster a bitch in the highest pitch he could muster. Sooooooo good
Cookie annoyed tf out of me. She got tiring by season 3. Watching her pine for Lucius after he left her for dead and divorced her and was ready to marry another woman was insane. Despite how strong they tried to write Cookie she was a very weak character. I couldn’t take any more of her after a while.
Facts
I think the fact that they basically raised each other, was the first man she’s really been with even after jail, got married, had 3 kids etc played a huge part as why she couldn’t let Lucious go.
@@mazelovesosa I understand the factors at play but nah lol they didn’t raise each other Lucius turned Cookie out when she was like 15/16. She wasn’t from the hood running the streets, he was. Remember when her sisters called her out on it in season 1 or 2. And again he LEFT HER IN JAIL after she took the wrap FOR HIM. I’m not saying she can’t have some residual feelings for him, but wanting to be WITH him to the point she fought Anika is insane to me.
They always wrote black women like that. Like we out here begging niggas. It’s sick.
They should have kept her w/Malcolm and had that dynamic w/him and Lucious (even if he wound up killing him if he was going to remain evil). They (Terrence Howard and Derek Luke) are both great actors, and it's not lost on me that Malcolm was the ONLY one of Cookie's lovers that Lucious didn't try to fuck with.
As a musician the one element that had me pull my hair out is they never once showed any of the Lyon boys on tour. Touring is a acts most lucrative venture and the best way to vibe with their audience. Not, radio, not TV, not local gigs, but hitting the road, hitting multiple stages, and showing your talent to the world.
they did but it was toward the end and it was terrible.
Trust me, that dialogue where Cookie is confused that her own child could be suffering from what she thinks is obscure mental illness, its real
My theory on the ALS storyline:
Terrence Howard still had (somewhat) of a film career, and he was shooting another TV show (Wayward Pines) at the same time he started Empire. I think they were gonna use the ALS thing, to kill him off the show, just in case Howard wouldn’t fully be able to commit to the show long term, due to other projects and opportunities. Once they knew the show was a hit, that’s when TH decided to fully commit to the show, and they saved his character
1st season was fire. Specially the soundtrack, they were taking it seriously. But i feel like, we all missed an episode and never came back 😂😂
Kelly Rowland had a story arc on the show in flashbacks playing Luscious mother in her younger days.
Then the mother was lightskin 💀
@@StandOnBizness5😂😂😂
@@StandOnBizness5i just realized that
@@StandOnBizness5that was so fkn weird!!!
@@StandOnBizness5SHE LOST PIGMENTATION 😂
My friend and I devoured this show for three seasons. Then we got annoyed by season 4 and forgot about it. The music from season 1 just chef kiss perfection. I still have a playlist for it.
28:38 is a quite accurate outlook on mental health/mental illness that many black people still have, especially older black people. cookie saying this is very in-character and makes sense.
I was thinking the same thing like thats something that regularly said in minority households.
You’re right. But I’m not surprised this channel isn’t aware of it 😔
@@lililililililililililililililyyeahhh i’m ngl i agree with most of the video but this point was not it 😭
Yeah lol Cookie is literally my mom in that scene 😅
FORGOTTEN?? Black people ate this up and still use clips to make memes lmao 😭
I had forgotten about it lol
I forgot about it.
I could NEVER forget how big this show was!! Empire was HUUUUGGGGGEEE
We do?
Didn't even know the show existed until that scandal came out
My theory is that lucious was actually bipolar which is why we seen him bounce back and forth between being a good person and being psychotic.
It makes sense that they never mentioned it in the show because they didn't believe in things like bipolarism .
😳DiddyLucious😲! Yikes.🥴
in cannon lure his mother had a mental illness and I believe they said he did too because she tried to drown him a few times.
And Andre was clearly bipolar
Bro im sorry but this an elementary ass comment
@@SonnySantana2099 wasn't writing a thesis. Just a passing thought .
"She fixed you 🥹" nahhh shii had me dying 😭
Naa that shit was crazy 😂
came to the comments as soon as i heard that.
😂
LMFAO he was SO serious
😂😂😂
Andre started seeing ghosts, somebody got pushed to death, I missed an episode and never went back.
Season one was good because they modeled it after Shakespere's King Lear. They had a guide for the first season, then they crashed without the training wheels.
How you frame sombody for a crime if they actually did the crime lol 😂 but
I worded that poorly ma fault lol
@ nah you good I was just f##kn around ima subscriber I love the content
....and it's Chris Rock of all people 😂😂😂
Getting rid of Ronda was definitely a bad choice.
Fr
They really killed her just for 10 seconds of shock value 🌚
That was the last episode I watched😭😭😭😭
Good for her career probably. She got exposure without being type cast.
@ I think she went on to be in the show Nashville.
This show just kept jumping the shark. First, it was campy & cute. But when Cookie showed up in the gorilla suit at the top of season 2, and then later on in the series, Lucious grew those long hotep locs in one season, I just gave up 😭😭
It really cant be understated how gooooood empire season 1 was like omg this show deserved so much better
EMPIRE needed a proper plot and character progression and constant support characters, especially consistent antagonists. After awhile I felt like the story was going in circles and there was a villain with the same motivation and goals each season.
Dianna Dubois was the perfect antagonist/foil to our lead characters. The show didn’t know how to cultivate a season-long antagonist that didn’t wanna “take over Empire records” or whatever. Our villains could’ve been drug-connects, politicians, or rival record label executives. What if Lucious and Cookie were forced to clean drug money through the label and their connect broke bad because of a dispute. So much un-mined potential from this series
I always feel like once a show starts having unnecessary amounts of celebrity cameos, the show will be ending soon after.
It isn't even that unnecessary honestly
They always played in Hakeem’s face then get mad when he reacted 🤦🏾♀️😂😭
That a Lyon will fall shit pissed me off when they said that like three times. Even the dude on the season finale trailers sounded irritated about lying 😂
I have literally been looking for a video talking about what the phenomenon that Empire was in it's day all over TH-cam, and boom, here you are on my feed. Incredible video 😂🔥
This is NOT a forgotten show. This is damn near black sopranos except it’s bad. Empire references make up 7% of daily black dialogue 😂
@@ChopGod23 what made it bad? It started to go down hill after like season 5 and they did way too much in season 6.
That’s what I was thinking
@@STACEYXRENEEwatch power and you will realize how shit this show was
@ I watched power, it was good. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not really...it really is a forgotten show when you think of how popular it was at the time. I remember ppl debating which show was better...Empire or Power at the time. That was a thing. Lol
This show was THAT show. But then the writers became insanely exploitative and just plain bad, having people dying and then coming back to life. Lucious and Andre having terminal illnesses and then healthy again.
Exploitating drug addiction, romanticizing abuse, misogyny, homophobia, sexism, it goes on and on. 😭
Blame that mostly on Lee Daniels an openly guy man and creator of the show.....Now we got all these terrible black Empire wanna be shows from the other gay creator Tyler Perry.
But wasn't all of that somewhat made the show special
@@driayoung710 Get that hate out your heart.
I thought Phylicia Rashad’s inclusion into the series was fantastic. I know you think her character “went crazy” because the plot demanded it, but her character was so deliciously evil and chewed away the scenery. Also, she was a perfect foil to the Lyons, as she saw them as “ghetto” or low-brow…It definitely was a gradual, slow build into villainy.
Agree! She was amazing and the Dubois family really took a toll on the Lyon family.
Agreed. I kinda wish they built up the Lyon/Dubois family rivalry and made that the next phase of the show.
I loved her character! The Lyons had finally met their match!
Without Andre blowing up Lucious back in season 3, that would’ve been the perfect way to end the show
I feel like season 4 would’ve been the perfect ending. Just without Hakeem getting hurt
You making me wanna go back and watch it. I stopped after season 1. Thank you for the trip back in time lol
I’ve never seen one episode of Empire but I know all the words to Drip Drop…black social media ripped that song apart and I was just in my little corner, getting my life and shimmying.
😂 gotta love a good shimmy
It's not really that many words anyway 😂
I wish Star got the hype Empire did.
No but literally it was so good
I was actually thinking 10 mins into this video that I should rewatch star😂
@@abidruen6362 It’s ashamed a lot of people don’t even know about the show.
Star deserved another season and more tbh. Empire should’ve had a cross over with star, to make the show bigger and connect some kind of way. I would love to see the magic it creates … maybe a few episodes with the crossover. Also empire deserved a better last season and last finale.
@@STACEYXRENEE It did. The season 2 premiere of Star was a crossover episode with Empire. Jussie Smollett was a guest star.
Back when ppl were comparing empire vs power
Power was more enjoyable.
@@MrREAPERszwell…
@@Starfirelordnsavor it fell off too, but not like empire
@@MrREAPERszhell nah empire S1 to S3 was in it's prime
I remember that talk there. Empire or Power.
This show only lasted as long as it did because of the undeniable chemistry between Taraji & Terrance Howard
I remember my 3 roommates and I used to binge this on off days. I’d cook dinner and we all sit down to watch for the evening. At some point, we all collectively stopped suggesting Empire as what we wanted to watch that day and forgot about it somewhere in season 4. Whenever it was Lucious lost his memory 🤣🤣
Me and my 2 roommates would watch this and stopped watching at the same time as u 😂
that plot with demi moore as his evil psychologist was 🤣🤣😭😭
Fun fact - Andre and Anika are married IRL
I knew that 😊
Everybody knows that.
@@PeteMcCorvey lol I didn’t
And Yazz is on OF😅.
@@hamutalisebo9336yeah unfortunately we know that too 😂
Proud to say I’m the only person that watched every single season every single episode from start to finish 😂
I watch all of them too☺️😁
They all watched it. Ppl just love to lie abt simple things so they can feel included i guess. Smh.
Was there an actual ending ?
I love maiyah & Hakeem n I love takeem even thoe he has put her thru a lot I feel like maiyah would end up pregnant but he would leave her n end up getting back with T unless tiana ends up fully les
28:43 To be fair, for the most part, this is pretty accurate. There is still a lot of stigma around black health (specially mental health) within the community. I have cases in my family, and everyone just refuses to acknowledge them, specially the older generation
Right this part was real af. Maybe the creator is white so he don’t know or something lol
Thank you for making this comment. Even if black families do acknowledge mental health they try to keep it secret and/or have a "pray it away" attitudes. They're so worried about how it will make them look publicly they don't have issues. My sister's been suffering from poor mental health for half a decade & my parents refuses to do anything about it because they don't want anyone to find out & just ignore what she's going through unless she does something that affects them directly🙄
This.
This
Currently dealing with this at home.
My mother needs assistance, as her dementia his worsening, yet nobody in the family wants to do anything about it, because to them it isn’t real.
😩
The only reason i remember this show is because of the “except a bullet!” scene. It was such a ridiculously goofy yet iconic line, it basically became like a family meme. We still yell “Except a bullet!” whenever we think a character in any show will be randomly betrayed.
Empire to me, and I always say should've ended after season 3. That season had the perfect rap up to all the family drama and chaos, then they had to ruin it with the car bomb and Lucious losing his memory
Yeah after he lost his memory when i forgot to watch again lowkey wanna watch again
13:25 I swear casting Chris Rock was a huge fail
Why is that?
The way I laughed out loud
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@MsTwilightSpeaks Pookie a Drug Lord 😆 🤣 😂 😹
Not really his character came and went a small portion of the show itself how is him in the show a fail when he’s an amazing person n actor in real life make it make sense y’all seen will smack him now y’all think y’all know him and don’t like him Chris rock is that dude frl
Man I used to be so obsessed with this show and I don't even remember when it stopped or when I stopped even thinking about it.
The best song of the show is You're so beautiful not only for its many iterations but also how those different remixes of the song thell the song while being fully pop
I really like that song too 🙂
@@Foshoko I think chasing the sky is the best, followed by dream on with you that Lucious sang for cookie.
@STACEYXRENEE which one cos he sang one with Freda Gatz when he entered prison ooo
@@Foshoko wdym?
@@STACEYXRENEE Lucious sang a song about Cookie when he went to jail called Snitch Bitch and the song was not very flattering so I was asking what song about Cookie are you talking about
Damn, that first season seems extremely ahead of it’s time and well written
S1 of Empire was such an unprecedented phenomenon, every week was gains after gains. I think the quick resolution of Lucious' sickness was due to the creators believing they wouldn't get a S2 and wanted to give the fans a full arc. If the money behind the show had've given them strong backing where they had the belief they could possibly have three seasons we might've had a proper plotline.
When Chris rock showed up I was confused 😭 I couldn’t take him seriously cuz huh😭
I’ve noticed that with many shows in other countries are written intentionally for 2 or 3 seasons. That way it usually all fits. As opposed to here where shows are written a few episodes at a time bc it could be cancelled anytime. Thus the show starts HOT bc season 1 is planned. Then if they get a second season they never thought that far ahead
I mean tbh the reverse happens to where people plan out multiple seasons, get cancelled and the fans of the show never get a conclusion because the writer had a multi season plan. Generally I am a fan of make a good season and always close on an ending. If the characters are good, people come back and life is never truly resolved so you can make another good complete story the next season.
Both Luscious and Cookie died on the last episode and no one cared. The deaths weren't even enotionally impactful..
Thank you I was wondering how it ended
Because half of the people were done with that show
They didnt….
They didn’t die. The first episode of the last season showed the car getting blown up but the writers forgot that and by the finale, they didn’t 🤦🏾♀️
“Back then in 2015” damn times have changed so much 2015 feels like a century ago when it’s only been 9 years 😭
This show was SO much fun up until around season 5 for me. It was the most dramatic black soap opera I saw until The Haves and The Have-Nots.
I was obsessed with the silly plotlines. Ngl, Lucious' bipoloar mom was such a funny character. Like she got me into full blown belly laughs... like when she tried to feed Demi Moore that glass like it was nothing. 😂😂 She was wild.
LMAO na i forgot Lucious had ALS 💀
yo samee
i ate this show up at the time and i dont remember most of thisss lmao. feels like a fever dream
Nah, I loved Empire to the end. PERIODT! But it pissed me off that they axed Star to focus on Empire's final season. Star left us hanging and I'd watch it right now if they brought it back.
hold on cause you forgot Kelly Rowland being Lucious' mom
His DEAD mom at that!!! Leslie Uggams was terrific, but how come she was walking around publicly as if Lucious hadn't spent his entire career saying the woman was DEAD!?
My absolute favorite song from the show is You’re So Beautiful! Jamal’s performance was so good! Then when he came out to everyone and Cookie shouted JAMAAAAALLL!!!! I was jumping like I was there with them! I really loved this show and I wish that Jussie could have found a better way to deal with whatever he was facing.
I sincerely had no idea there was a seasons 4-6
You missed nothing!
Didn’t realize how much Empire was similar to Succession! 😮 They have the exact same story at the start.
The main story is so basic, the writing would make it great or mediocre.
4:26 DaBaby wrote this script
PLS😂😂😂
Ffssss🤣
IM SCREAMING
BROOOOOOO!!!!!!! he was co-directing before he started rapping HE A INDUSTRY PLANT
😂😂😂
lol and juicy smooyay messed it up for the whole cast!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The only thing I like about empire is the nostalgia it gives me. When I was pregnant I rewatched the entire show. I had such a good time laughing at how bad it was and just remembering where I was when this show was airing.
Man I'm glad someone is talking about this show. I was a huge fan of the show at the time and just remember never finishing it. The music really was fire though
First season was definitely the best! What is Love made me cry😂😂 thats still my song along with a couple of Jussie's hits. Once Lucious grew locks out of nowhere I was done
Rewatching this show now and realizing how Combs family coded it is.
What?
@@ratedr7845 it reflects the family of Diddy
This. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Except I can’t put my finger on who cookie would be portraying. But Everyone else is spot on, down to having a baby lol
@@SarynVyoMaybe diddys mom?
@EvonneLindiwe no it doesn't
this show was a mess. I tried going back to finish the last season, but I couldn't... it was too dark. the entire show was depressing and stressful to watch. I watch tv to escape, not to experience a worse life than my own!
The problem with the last season was they had too many characters they were trying to give stories to and they knew they needed to wrap up everything. Even if it wasn't for COVID not letting us get the last two episodes, it still wouldn't have ended decently.
Heavy on the watching tv to escape
39:44 I randomly turned the show on one day, watched like the first whole season and then stopped somewhere in the middle of the second season when I got bored. Then never watched it again 😅
4:11 hey it’s that guy who faked a hate crime to try and gain clout with that other guy who is some kind of wizard with harmonies or tunes of matter.
the fact that STAR was cancelled to continue Empire pmo
True Star was the better show that actually hot better and maintained that quality
I would havebliked s final season at least
Fox getting acquired by Disney caused the cancellation of many good shows
That season 1 was fasho peak. I rm catching it every wednesday with the fam & then discussing it the
next day at school. Good times
Never cared for this show but the clips you’re playing so far makes the show look really good 😂
It's a good show lol
It’s what of those shows that’s good and entertaining because it’s so over the top and ridiculous.
I’m not really a TV person anymore but back then this show had me hooked and I was surprised
the writing just went all the way left like its crazy😩
Empire walked and tripped for succession to run
In season 1 Anika was a snake and cookie was a lioness and saw right past Anika’s bull- Anika always get in cookies business and whenever her and Lucious try to reunite, she always interrupts. She also had drugged an ex empire artist who cookie worked a lot to help her get clean and sober. She also decided to get revenge on Lucious after he cheated on her with his baby mama, she cheated on him with his own son. Which was really crazy. She should’ve just left him or cheated with someone else who wasn’t blood. Especially since he was once her step son and he was only 19, while she was in her 30s.
The problem for me was it was too grim, and awful, it was just a show about bad people screwing over other bad people. Didn’t help there was no one to root for
Yeah thats why i fell off after season 3
That's a good point. Lots of antagonists, no real protagonist.
@@Because-rt8qs technically luscious is the protagonist. But he’s a villain protagonist. There’s just no altruistic force to bring him down for the greater good. There was a cop in season 1, but I don’t remember what happened with him
i know quite literally nothing about this show, so this is very informative lmao. It’s the type of show that i would always see the posters and be like oh i guess this is still going. That and nashville. Musical shows really lmao
It’s insane that I literally watched two episodes total of season 2; the premiere and the finale 😂🤣
They actually have a heartwarming happy ending that’s why I love the show