Empire season 6 will be final season; Jussie Smollett return unclear

Here’s some news when it comes to Empire that a lot of people out there probably saw coming — season 6 is going to be the last. It was confirmed this morning by the network, in addition to the news that the series is moving to Tuesday nights for the first time.

In a statement about the final season (via TVLine), here is what Fox’s programming head Charlie Collier had to say on the subject:

“We’re turning the final season of Empire into a large television event … We are going out guns-a-blazing. Six years is a pretty remarkable run for a drama series.”

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As for the idea of Jussie Smollett appearing in the final season, there is still no definitive answer on that — while the actor is still contracted to be a part of season 6, he may not appear and that is really up to the discretion of the network, the studio, the showrunners, and ultimately Smollett himself. there’s a lot that needs to be worked through and all of that needs some careful, proper consideration. We’re not ruling it out, though, especially around the second half of the season given that we think there could be a time where a little bit (but not all of) the controversy starts to blow over.

Empire ending comes at a time when the ratings for the show continue to slip and move in a less-than-favorable direction. It would be easy to cast stones at the Smollett saga as the reason for this happening, but we’ve felt for a while that ending the show in season 6 or 7 was going to be the likely outcome anyway. It’s not the big hit that it once was, and we don’t think that Fox wants to get in a situation where they have to renegotiate with a lot of their cast members in order to have to pay out more money for a season 7 or season 8, depending on how long their contracts run. In announcing the final season in advance, what we’re getting here is a situation where the writers can actually plan for an endgame over the course of a full season, rather than being in a spot where they have to hurry one along. That’s not a favorable outcome for anyone.

For some more news when it comes to Empire…

What do you think about Empire season 6 being the final season? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and of course, we’re going to have further updates as time goes on this summer.