For many African-Americans, life is often messy, conflicted and plagued with challenges. “Empire” — Fox’s surprise hit about hip-hop king Lucious Lyon and his larger-than-life brood — lays these issues bare, with neither sentimentality nor apology.
Unlike the middle-class conformism of “Blackish” or the bougie elites in “Scandal” and “How To Get Away With Murder,” the show’s rap-world royals reign rowdy from the ghetto to the boardroom with little regard for propriety.
But “Empire” is more than mere entertainment. It’s the first truly revolutionary series of the 21st century — the only high-profile TV show with no prominent white protagonists.
Anchored by a strong black woman — and created by a who’s who of African-American writers, directors, guest stars and musical producers — “Empire” is TV about blacks, by blacks and for blacks.
In turn, it’s found a steadily increasing audience. More than 13 million viewers tuned in last week, Nielsen reports, 32 percent over its Jan. 7 debut.
Not surprisingly, black viewers make up 61 percent of that audience.
“Most television shows present black characters that are merely one- or two-dimensional, but ‘Empire’ presents the full range of the African-American experience all in one place,” says Manhattan-based filmmaker André Robert Lee, whose films “The Prep School Negro” and “I’m Not Racist . . . Am I?” explore the intersections between race, class and culture. “From one son who’s gay to another who’s a business-world overachiever to the poor sister stuck in the old neighborhood, people can see themselves in ‘Empire,’ which is why the show has been so successful.”
It’s also more grounded in reality, fans say.
Rather than sipping shiraz with the president like Olivia Pope, the “Empire” crew is bashing Barack on live TV. Instead of the ivory-tower life of “How To Get Away With Murder,” the Lyon boys are chugging Cristal in the club.
Granted, the show has its critics.
The website All Hip Hop called it “a black bourgeoise nightmare,” while Time and the Washington Post called out the homophobia of its lead character.
But others applaud its brazenness.
Bevy Smith, the Harlem-born host of Bravo’s “Fashion Queens,” says the show’s “warts-and-all” plots are actually proof of the show’s affection for both the black underclass and elites.
“People may not like being held up to a mirror, but warts are ultimately not a ‘black’ thing or ‘white’ thing but a human thing,” she says. “Some folks may want to distance themselves from certain elements of ‘Empire,’ but [producer] Lee Daniels has been able to find the beauty and the poetry within the show’s archetypes and stereotypes.
“A generation ago people also criticized ‘The Jeffersons’ for its portrayal of black folks, but now the show is considered a classic,” Smith continues. “I think the same thing will happen with ‘Empire.’ In 20 years we will look back at it as a golden age of television.”