At the start of its run in 2015, Empire was a rare network TV hit during a time when network TV was beginning to take a major backseat to cable and streaming. The series quickly became a pop-culture phenomenon and, at least during its first season, consistently improved viewership from one week to the next. Anyone would be thankful to have a hit of this stature, but co-creator Lee Daniels has revealed that, while the show did make him a lot of money, aspects of its success made it “absolutely the worst experience” for a creator used to calling all the shots.

During an interview with The Film Stage to promote his Netflix horror film The Deliverance, Daniels spoke about the Empire phenomenon, explaining that he got into television because he wanted to challenge himself on a creative level. The director had only produced independent projects, which gave him a lot of creative control, and he wanted to know what it was like to relinquish some of that control by answering to higher-ups. Daniels said, “I don’t like staying in the same lane just as a creative. When I got into television, I really just wanted to be able to answer to suits. I wanted to know what that experience was like. All of my friends, they get notes and sh*t. And I’m like, ‘What is that like?!’ You know what I mean?”

As it turns out, Daniels learned that experience wasn’t for him. Here’s how he describes working on Empire:

“Horrible. Absolutely the worst experience. Horrible! But guess what? F*cking that money, money, money! I was able to put my kids through college and sh*t. So that in itself was worth it.”

Empire Became a Hit Straight Out of the Gate

Co-created by Daniels and Danny Strong, Empire was a drama centered around the music industry and, most notably, around a fictional hip-hop music company called Empire Entertainment. Set in New York, the drama was primarily stirred up among the founder and members of his family, who were constantly fighting for control over the company. Empire stars Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Jussie Smollett, and Trai Byers as the main Lyon Family, and was known for an evolving supporting cast across its six-season run.

Empire was a hit out of the gate for Fox, debuting to 10 million viewers, but in a rare feat for network TV, the ratings kept improving week after week during its first season, with the Season 1 finale hitting a total of 17 million viewers. Not only was this uncommon for network TV, but particularly for TV shows led by a primarily African-American cast, which only made its success much more noteworthy. Empire also received several accolades, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series – Drama, while Henson would go on to win the Globe for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her performance as Cookie Lyon. The actress was also nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Following the end of the series’ run, a spin-off was said to be in the works focusing on Henson’s character. The project never came together, and the actress admitted that she fired her entire team when the spin-off didn’t come to fruition.

Empire wasn’t without its share of real-life drama. As the series began to diminish in ratings later in its run, Smollett was charged with filing a false police report regarding an incident where he staged a hate crime and assault. Smollett’s deception garnered heavy media coverage and led to the actor not returning for the sixth and final season of the series. The actor was ultimately indicted on six counts pertaining to the filing of the false report and convicted on five felony counts. Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail and ordered to pay a fine, but his attorneys quickly appealed, leading to his release. The outcome of his appeal is currently still pending.

Empire
can currently be streamed on Hulu.