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Empire

My hate/hate relationship with Empire is well documented. That is, there was a superlong Facebook “conversation” after the second show on everything from Lee Daniels’ tired colorism, to the insipid dialogue, super-loud organ music, and here-today-gone-next-scene plotlines about a Black family drenched in murderous ways. Even Terrence Howard’s ridiculous hair made me roll my eyes.

Apparently, I was the only one on earth, because Empire has broken all ratings numbers soundly and everyone from my mother to my academic colleagues crowed about their new “addiction.”

In fact, I found myself grudgingly watching each week because there were all of these witty conversations happening on social media every Wednesday and the most hilarious memes. If nothing else, Empire elicited a true real-time conversation in a way sports does. And I wanted in.

But still, I was truly baffled by its success. What was it about this cultural tour de force wrapped in a leopard print dress and colorful fur? After thinking long and hard, I narrowed down the top ten reasons Empire won its audience.

It's black.

From Jamal getting his ass beat with a broom for calling his momma a bitch to Miss Patti LaBelle saying #BlackLivesMatter in the finale, this show’s center and compass is black people. There is no sidekick/black friend/Magical Negro here. In general, black folks over index on television consumption, and so this makes perfect sense. But it’s not just any kind of black show…

It's a soap opera.

And my people love soap operas. Even in college, I remember some of my friends rushing to the TV room each day to watch the “stories” between classes. And so, like telenovellas in the Hispanic community, soaps are something culturally endemic to the black community. That is, chances are if you didn’t watch Dallas or Dynasty or The Young and the Restless, your grandmamma, babysitter, or auntie did.

Three cheers for black love.

Whether its Cookie and Lucious, Anika and Lucious, Cookie and Malcolm, or Jamal and his boyfriends, black couples are falling from the rafters on Empire. You can see white couples on everything from The Big Bang Theory to, well, damn near every single show on TV, but it’s actually rare to see two black people in coupledom on screen. I think it happens like every seven years.

The guest appearances.

I mean, one never knows who’s going to show up on the next episode. In just this season, Empire had cameos from everyone from Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige to Raven Symone and Courtney Love. Daniels has made it known that he’s courting Denzel Washington and Oprah for next season, which goes into the fact that…

It casts movie stars.

Daniels is first and foremost a Hollywood director, and the actors he mostly works with made their bones on the big screen — a few of them Oscar nominees or winners. Bonafide movie stars add sparkle to network TV all but usurped by cable.

The music.

Hello? Music is African Americans’ gift to the world. And there’s plenty of it. Now, one could argue about its quality and quantity (can Jussee Smolett’s quit warble-wailing for five minutes? How about Terrence Howard picking up that guitar to sing? Spare me). But love it or hate it, Empire is a glossed-up version of Glee with original music.

It tackles taboo issues.

By presenting gay storylines very matter-of-factly — from Jamal’s public coming out, to Tiana’s revelation about her girlfriend, and even that weird falsetto rap battle challenging homophobia in hip hop — Empire has brought same-gender-loving straight to prime time. It also clumsily touched on mental illness and even ALS.

It's super gay.

And that’s a good thing. No, I’m not talking about the gay relationships on the show, but the feel of it. Kehinde Wiley on the wall? Check. Naomi Campbell, Patti LaBelle, and Jennifer Hudson on the same show? Check. High camp? Check. Daniels’ sensibility as a gay black man is evident. And fun.

It's sheer escapism.

Hell, in this highly ratchet, racialized time in which anti-racism protests are a daily thing, Empire is a cheap, easy stress reliever. Take an hour every week to not think, not be politicized (though it is all political), and wrap yourself in a cocoon of over-the-top tomfoolery with a black — er, back beat.

It's got Cookie.

What can we say – she’s the undisputed star of the show, and to some even deserving of an Emmy nomination. Played masterfully by Taraji P. Henson, Cookie is the heart of Empire. She is a freshly dressed bawse and fiercely protective mother with a razor tongue and banging body. What’s not to love?

Empire may actually grow into its fullness (speaking of, I would love to see a storyline with Gabby Sidibe). Yes it’s confusing, and messy, and in the finale, all the chocolate dudes went bye-bye (see you, Malik Yoba and Derek Luke). But because of Empire, more television shows with Black leads have been green lit in the last six months than any “diversity” forum or Hollywood boycott ever could. And that’s real.

And so, I suspect that I will never love Empire as much as Scandal or House of Lies, but if all else fails we just and slap one liners like “Chile, I don’t want no chicken” onto a meme and laugh our asses off as we scroll through our timelines the next day. You can meet everybody else there.

Angela Helm is a writer struggling to make sense of it all.

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Photos: Fox; Courtesy Everett Collection