Empire season 6: Jussie Smollett will not return for series finale

Late last year, there first started to be some reports out there that Jussie Smollet could return for the Empire series finale. It’s something that the writers at least contemplated for some time, but it’s not going to come to pass in the end.

Speaking (via TVLine) to reports while at the TCA Winter Press Tour, Fox’s entertainment head Michael Thorn had the following to say about the decision to move forward, as opposed to taking a step back:

“We’re not going to bring Jussie back to the show … There were a number of factors that went into the decision to not bring him back. There were many points of view about if he should come back or if he shouldn’t. As hard as a decision as that was, for us — and when I say us I mean the network, the studio and the producers — it felt like it was in the best interests of the show and the cast.”

There is no question that bringing back Jussie would be a controversial topic. There could have been some good stories that the show created with Jamal as a part of the show again, but it goes without saying that the presence of Smollett would have been a distraction — an enormous one. It would’ve ended up being the sort that would turn the set into a circus.

So while it does seem like the idea of Jussie Smollett returning to Empire was discussed a little bit more than we would have expected in advance, it does seem as though all conversation is now dead. The show doesn’t need Jamal, even if he was once incredibly important, in order to finish off the overall narrative.

Do you think that this is the right move for the end of Empire?

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