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Episodes
Season 2 picks up three months after the arrest and incarceration of Lucious, who is trying to run Empire Entertainment from inside federal lockup. Elsewhere, a headline-grabbing state prosecutor hangs her political ambitions on bringing Lucious down; and Cookie stages a star-studded concert in support of her ex, while at the same time she's plotting with Andre, Hakeem, Anika and Mimi Whiteman to finalize the hostile takeover of his company.
Cookie and her cohorts decide to start their own small record label, but their opposing visions make for a bumpy start to the venture. Meanwhile, Hakeem woos a hot Latina singer for the girl group he wants to form; Lucious hires a new lawyer and records an epic track from inside jail; and Jamal proves to be just as ruthless as his father when making business moves.
Cookie and Anika work behind Lucious' back to pull off a performance that will catch Pitbull's eye; at the same time, Lucious tries to convince Frank Gather's daughter to sign with him; and Hakeem focuses his energy on making Ménage a Trois a success. Meanwhile, Andre and Rhonda pin their hopes of a return to Empire on their baby to come.
The Lyons collaborate on a music video, putting aside their differences long enough to capitalize on Hakeem and Jamal's duet from Hakeem's leaked album. Meanwhile, Lucious, who has the federal murder case hanging over his head, decides the answer to his problems is to find Vernon and make him permanently disappear.
Cookie and Anika work with Laz to organize a big block party to launch their company, an event that will be highlighted by a signature anthem written by Hakeem, who finds himself entering into a tender romance with the lead singer of his girl group. Meanwhile, Jamal collaborates with Ne-Yo; and Andre takes steps to rid his soul of past sins.
Lucious and Cookie put aside their differences for the sake of their family who need them to work together to stay out of danger; Jamal does his best to get back in the studio and break away from the "gay artist" label; and Hakeem struggles with how to feel and act like a man.
Lucious explores the possibility of partnering with Jago as he maps out a plan to turn Empire into a global music monolith; at the same time, Andre struggles to find a balance between his newfound values and demanding career. Elsewhere, Hakeem molds Laura into a star; and Cookie pushes to get Lyon Dynasty involved in a major televised charity concert.
Battle lines are drawn when Lucious attempts to assert his power by releasing a rap by Freda challenging Hakeem as his heir. Meanwhile, Cookie's spitfire sister pays her a special visit; Jamal works on landing a major sponsorship deal; and Anika receives some life-changing news.
Cookie and Candace recruit an ex-con to help them rescue their sister Carol; and Laz's romantic relationship with Cookie gets complicated when she finds out the truth about him. Meanwhile at Empire, Jamal collaborates with a pop star who connects with him on a deep level.
Lucious makes a reckless play for the streaming service that he believes will put him on the map as the most powerful man in music, but in the end this move could cost him big time; and Cookie decides to stage a concert at the prison where she was locked away from her family for 17 years.
Empire: Season 2 Videos
Empire: Season 2 Photos
Tv Season Info
Cast & Crew
Becky
Jamal Lyon
Cookie Lyon
Anika Calhoun
Hakeem Lyon
Porsha
News & Interviews for Empire: Season 2
Critic Reviews for Empire Season 2
All Critics (36) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (2)
The second season isn't the phenomenon of the first. But no other series on network TV this year has better proven the power of diversity.
Empire remains a soap with no pretensions beyond the suds. But there's something melancholy, and forlorn, in its heart: Reach the mountaintop, and the view is still lousy, and worse, everyone wants to push you off.
The elements that made Empire a sensation last season have not dimmed.
The first season of the wildly popular Fox dramarama was soapy in all the right ways, but, like the best soaps, teetered between being, like, the greatest and a big mess. This season walks the same precarious path.
"Empire" rules, bigger and badder than ever.
If the premiere is any indication, we can look forward to the usual Empire fare: sexual intrigue, LGBTQ issues, fabulous wardrobe, slick pop tunes and rap hits, and - of course - a seemingly endless succession of double and triple crossings.
[Strong's] structure injects the drama with something more, and the new season music absolutely is moving this series into the legend category.
The show's sophomore season improves on the first in its sense of scope.
Simultaneously refined and deliciously pulpy, Fox's mega-hit Empire roars back to life in its second year, with all the brand-specific viciousness and gasp-earning twists fans have come to expect from the Lyons.
Empire is succeeding at the game it's playing, and if that's our criteria, then yes, it's a good show.
There are still the twists and turns, the gasp-worthy tweetable moments, and the songs made of pure fire.
Overall, I really enjoyed the season 2 premiere of Empire, although I am going to try to forget that the gorilla scene ever happened.
Audience Reviews for Empire: Season 2
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Oct 01, 2017Never have a seen such s poorly written piece of trash that panders to the lowest common denominator. The plot is spoon fed and predictable, and it perpetuates stereotypes that most of us do not aspire to. Not all black folks are like this people, and your kids shouldnt look up to these type of nonsense characters. I love Terrence Howard and Taraji, this show is no better than here comes honey boo boo. These rolls are beneath Terrence and taraji, they deserve so much better.
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May 22, 2017Empire's glossy melodramatic flair has worn out its welcome, at least for myself. Taraji Hensen, while a capable actress, is exhausting to watch and near-impossible to like as Cookie Lyon and each of the male leads act like a child half their respective ages. Add that to the producer's insistence on trying to keep up some gang elements in their portrayals, as well as an unfortunate step back to the quality of this season's soundtrack, and Empire S2 is hard to recommend as anything besides a guilty pleasure.
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Apr 05, 2017After a strong and shocking start,Empire waste its talented cast and made it another boring soap opera.It lost energy by wasting cliffhangers and wasting entire episodes with boring sub plots and honestly forcing some cast members to become useless.
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Sep 18, 2016Even better than the previous season. The tagline MUSIC FAMILY POWER was really visible to the eyes of the viewers. The characters of Lucius, Cookie, Andre, Jamal and Hakeem are connected but the individuality of each can stand alone without the other. And amazing performance for Taraji. A well-deserve defeat of Viola. Two thumbs up.
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Jul 25, 2016I couldn't stop watching!!!! I loved it????
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May 20, 2016ummmm..... this was a disaster. A big disaster and it is nearly impossible to fix now. I will keep watching, but wow what a disaster. Cookie keeps on making this interesting though i am still so frustrated. I really have no idea what to give this so i will give my undecisive 2.5/5. The writers need to stop turning this into a bad soap (which it is headed for) and make this the intense and addictive show it almost was in season 1.
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May 20, 2016The Empire has officially fallen this season. This whole season their has not been one great episode they took along break just to show us more disappointing episodes. Especially the season finale like what made them decide to have Rhonda and Anika the main focus at the end when that is more of a side story. Did anybody else see the horrible acting from Hakeem when his wife called the wedding at the last minute, he reacted like he dropped his last chip or something.I do not think it worse acting than Tiana when she got robbed for her purse earlier in the season.
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May 18, 2016While Season 2 is heavily flawed and no where near as good as it could've been when it's great it's great getting more into characters pasts and why they are they way they especially for Lucious Lyon but of course the real MVP of the season is Taraji P. Henson who further who pours tons of pathos into her performance. However where Season 2 struggles is sticking to storylines as well as moving way too fast and many times gets too over the top for it's own good but ends the season in a confident new direction that hopefully for the show's sake works out moving forward. Overall Grade of the Season: B-
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May 04, 2016really bad. dont know why people even watch this
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Apr 26, 2016Fed up of the musical chairs to be "Chairman" so stopped watching!
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