Terrence Howard Rules Hip Hop And Family In Fox's Empire Trailer

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What better way to pit three siblings against one another than to tell them one of them will inherit your empire? That's part of the premise for Fox's new drama Empire, which stars Terrence Howard as the father who's looking to groom one of this three sons to take over the music business he built from the ground up. The trailer gives us a look at the drama that ensues, as the hip-hop king deals with a troubling diagnoses and then has to plan for the future of his empire and his family.

Empire group

Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, Empire stars Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon, the CEO of a music empire who's diagnosed with a disease and wants one of his sons to rise up and take over Empire Entertainment. Here's a look at part of Fox's synopsis for the drama:

From Academy Award nominee Lee Daniels (“Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” “Precious”) and Emmy Award winner Danny Strong (“Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” “Game Change”), comes EMPIRE, a sexy and powerful new drama about the head of a music empire whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne. LUCIOUS LYON (Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard, “Crash,” “Hustle & Flow”) is the king of hip-hop. An immensely talented artist, the CEO of Empire Entertainment and a former street thug, his reign has been unchallenged for years. But all that changes, when he learns he has a disease that is going to render him crippled and incapacitated in a matter of three years. The clock is ticking, and he must groom one of his three sons to take over his crowning achievement, without destroying his already fractured family.Lucious’ favorite is his youngest son, HAKEEM (newcomer Bryshere Gray), a gifted musician and a spoiled playboy who values fame over hard work. The middle son, JAMAL (Jussie Smollett, “North,” “The Mighty Ducks”), is a sensitive soul and a musical prodigy who, unlike Hakeem, shies away from the spotlight. Jamal also happens to be gay, which infuriates and embarrasses his father. ANDRE (Trai Byers, “90210”), the eldest son, is CFO of Empire Entertainment. Wharton-educated with a brilliant business mind, Andre lacks the charisma that Lucious believes is crucial to running the company. But in his quest for power, Andre is assisted by his manipulative and like-minded wife, RHONDA (Kaitlin Doubleday, “Hung,” “Catch Me If You Can”).

In addition to Terrence Howard, the cast includes Malik Yoba, Jussie Smollett, Bryshere Gray, Trai Byers, Grace Gealey, Kaitlin Doubleday and Gabourey Sidibe. Also set to star is Taraji P. Henson, who plays Lucious' ex-wife, who mysteriously emerges from prison after serving time for the last two decades for drug-related crimes. Her arrival complicates things, as she considered herself the sacrificial lamb who helped Lucious build his empire before she took the fall for the drug running that financed the business back in the day.

Lee Daniels and Danny Strong's involvement in the project is enough to raise a fair amount of interest in this drama. Factor in Terrence Howard and the rest of the cast, and the intriguing story, and we're eager to see how this one goes when Fox airs it. Empire is among the series set to roll out in 2015. See Fox's 2014-2015 schedule here.

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Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.