FOX Renews Empire For Fifth Season

Variety reports that Fox has renewed the music drama Empire for a fifth season. There are currently four episodes left in the fourth season and less than two weeks before FOX’s upfront presentation in New York.

Fox Broadcasting entertainment president Michael Thorn said: “’Empire’ is as compelling, emotional and unpredictable as it ever was. We are so proud of our amazing cast, led by Terrence and Taraji, who deliver powerful performances week after week. We’d also like to thank our tremendous creative team – Lee, Danny, Brett, Ilene, Sanaa, Brian and Francie – whose inspired storytelling continues to create the unforgettable, jaw-dropping OMG moments that have always been signature to ‘Empire’.”

The series was at one time the highest-rated series on TV. It now averages a 1.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.8 million viewers, down 31% and 24% respectively from season three. It still wins its time slot on Wednesday nights and is a strong lead-in for Star. It’s the second most-viewed in multi-platform viewing with 11.3 million viewers. It was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, who executive produce with Ilene Chaiken, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Sanaa Hamri, Brett Mahoney and Dennis Hammer. The series stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson.

Mahoney is set to replace Chaiken as the showrunner for the fifth season, as she will be working on a drama pilot for FOX’s new season, as she has an overall deal with the network.