DAVID BIANCULLI

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EMPIRE
January 7, 2015  | By David Bianculli

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

 

SERIES PREMIERE: The pilot episode of this new Fox series, unfortunately, is a bit too broad and stereotypical, pulling a bit too obviously from both highbrow (Shakespeare’s King Lear) and lowbrow (ABC’s Dynasty) for inspiration. Yet the cast, creators and premise of this drama, which is set in the privileged world of a successful hip-hop record company, bring enough to the table to make you root for it to improve quickly, and hit some notes – dramatic, not musical, that is – that are less predictable. Lee Daniels, Danny Strong and Brian Grazer have teamed up behind the camera for this one, and the on-camera stars are no slouches, either. Terrence Howard stars as Lucious Lyon, a recording mogul with three sons vying to take over the reins of his company, and with a greedy, manipulative and understandably bitter ex-wife just out of prison. The ex-wife, Cookie, is played by Taraji P. Henson (pictured), recently of CBS’s Person of Interest, who steals her scenes as brazenly and effectively as Joan Collins did on Dynasty. But their three sons – businessman Andre (Trai Bryers), gay singer-songwriter Jamal (Jussie Smollett) and irresponsible young rapper Hakeem (Bryshere Gray) – start out about as three-dimensional as the siblings on My Three Sons, so they need to be showcased more effectively. So does the music so central to this series, overseen by superstar record producer Timbaland. The ingredients are here – but the first serving is notably overdone.

 
 
 
 
 
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