Empire Cast Concerned About Renewal Chances Due to Jussie Smollett Charges

Jussie Smollett’s criminal case involving the allegations he staged the attack on himself could bring down Empire, according to rumors. TMZ reports that the cast of the hit FOX show is anxious about the show’s chances, as there has been a delay from when they expected to hear about the show’s fate after Smollett was charged with a felony.

According to the site, the cast and crew are upset because they expected to find out about the show’s fate a couple of weeks ago, but that hasn’t happened. FOX has not yet indicated whether they will renew the music drama for a sixth season. If it is renewed, there are some several people involved with the show who have reservations about Smollett returning (assuming he even could considering he now faces sixteen felony counts).

It is important to note a couple of things for context here. One, Empire is one of Fox’s biggest hits. While the numbers are not at the height they hit in the second and third seasons, it is still the fourteenth best-rated show among all broadcast networks for the season. Being an ensemble cast that relies on much bigger-name stars than Smollett (Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson), it seems like a series that could whether the Smollett storm. It’s hard to know whether the scandal has hurt the series, as it’s been off for a scheduled break since mid-December and doesn’t return since tomorrow night.

Furthermore, while Fox renewed the show early in its first four seasons, last season it did the more traditional thing and renewed it toward the end of the season in May. So things are not looking too grim yet. However, the site reports that people involved with the show believe that Smollett’s case will factor significantly into the renewal decisions.