Empire: FOX Series Creators Still Want to Film a Proper Last Episode

Empire aired its second to last episode on Tuesday night, and the finale will air next week. The episode was not meant to be the finale for the series though. Production on the FOX drama shutdown while the cast and crew were filming episode 19 of season six.

Both Lee Daniels and Danny Strong are hoping that fans will see the finale they envisioned and created for the series at some point, but that will not happen for some time.

Daniels said the following about the FOX series, per Deadline:

“The success of Empire and bringing the Lyon family to broadcast television will always be one of the proudest achievements of my career. This show is the definition of breaking barriers. Thank you to our incredible cast, especially Terrence and Taraji, along with our amazing writers and tireless crew, for all of their hard work and bringing this story to life. I think there’s more to do with these characters, and I’m heartbroken we aren’t getting to shoot the finale we wanted—at least not yet. But you know what they say in television? Stay tuned! To the Empire!”

Strong released his own comments about Empire ending with the episode set to air on April 21:

“We’re so proud of this show and of everything this incredible cast – led by Taraji and Terrence- and crew accomplished over six seasons. The episode airing on April 21 was never meant to be the series finale, but due to current events it will likely be the last one our fans will see for a while. We had an ending for the series planned that we all loved, and hopefully someday we’ll be able to film it and give the series its proper conclusion. But we hope everyone tunes in to our last original episode, because the work done by our cast and crew deserves to be seen by the widest audience possible. Big thank you to Fox for being our home for these many years. And here’s hoping this isn’t the end!”

What do you think? Are you hoping to see the planned finale for Empire at some point?