Fox has renewed their hit series Empire for a sixth season but currently has no plans to bring back Jussie Smollett’s character, Jamal, during the actor’s ongoing legal issues, according to TVLine.
Update (5/13/2019):
- Deadline is reporting that season six of Empire will also mark the end of the series.
- In a recent update on the status of Fox’s hit drama, network CEO Charlie Collier indicated that this season will close out the series saying, “We are turning the final season into a large TV event — we are trying to go out guns a-blazing. You allow fans to lean in and have the ending they deserve.”
- Season six of Empire will consist of 20 episodes to finish telling the story of the Lyon family.
- Jussie Smollett’s involvement in this final chapter still remains unknown.
- As previously mentioned, the network said they wouldn’t be including Smollett’s Jamal for season six with Collier saying, “There’s an option to have Jussie in the series but we have no plans for that.”
Previously:
- The renewal of the hit series was expected, as Empire is Fox’s number two scripted television series, behind 9-1-1.
- The news regarding Smollett is slightly more surprising however as the actor was facing 16 felony charges and potentially years behind bars for allegedly staging a racist and homophobic attack on himself on January 29, but had those charges erased in March.
- It’s not impossible for him to return however. Smollett’s contract was extended in a move that would leave the door open for the actor to return to the series in the future, giving Fox some flexibility.
- Smollett, who portrays the openly gay Jamal Lyon on Empire, was written out of the final two episodes of the show’s current fifth season due to his legal issues, making last week’s episode potentially the last time he is seen in the series.
- Last week, the rest of the cast of the series issued a letter to Fox and Disney requesting that the actor be brought back to the series for the sixth season.
What they’re saying:
- A statement from 20th Century Fox TV: “By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for Season 6, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire.”
- Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn: “[Empire] continues to break barriers with its emotionally powerful storytelling, and it remains a core part of the Fox legacy. We want to thank everyone on the show… all of whom have done a tremendous job this season. We know there are so many more stories to tell, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for Season 6.”