Fox’s new hit show, “Empire,” premiered its jaw-dropping two-hour season finale Wednesday night.
“Empire,” starring Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard, tells the story of Lucious Lyon, an infamous CEO of a successful music company that faces challenges such as being diagnosed with a life threatening disease, sons who are in competition to take over the company and personal struggles with bipolar disorder and homosexuality.
Throughout the season, artists like Mary J. Blige and Estelle guest starred performing with the original cast, making the “Empire” album a hit on iTunes. The finale captivated viewers with special performances from the legendary Patty Labelle, Snoop Dogg, Juicy J, Jennifer Hudson and Rita Ora.
This daring season finale pushed the envelope with all of its drama. Filled with twists ranging from love, betrayal, revenge and life lessons, fans immediately took to social media with their reactions, putting “Empire” on the list of trending topics Wednesday night.
Spectators tweeted, “‘Empire’ finale was excellent. Kudos to the ‘Empire’ writers for creating a show unlike anything else on TV. An actual phenomenon.”
USA Today reports “Empire” is the No. 1 network drama among young adults.
On campus, students are raging over the events from the season one finale of “Empire.”
Aloryn Davis, senior industrial engineering major, said she was taken aback by its shock value as she watched in disbelief.
“It was full of unexpected surprises that had my eyes glued to the TV,” Davis said. “I couldn’t even change the channel during commercials in fear of missing something.”
Other students on campus were also completely drawn into the finale story line because of all of the unexpected plot twists.
Justin Johnson, senior industrial engineering major, said he felt the finale left him anticipating next season’s drama.
“Everything that happened was completely unexpected,” Johnson said. “The chain of events really kept me on my toes, making for an awesome ending.”
Empire is so intriguing that even Tommy Stevenson, chief diversity officer of Mississippi State University, tuned in.
“I was sold on the diversity of the show,” Stevenson said. “It portrays real life adversities such as being homosexual in America, struggling with mental illness and racial stereotypes, all of which are not usually seen on network television, which is what makes it so dynamic.”
Even though Empire’s edgy story could be considered too provocative for network television, it has been praised for its unapologetic representation of modern America. With this new TV series already topping its ratings at 14 million viewers, the ground-shaking finale definitely left everyone on their toes in anticipation of what is next to come.
