Midway through its second season, Empire continues its reign, remaining one of the most-watched and talked about shows in recent memory. This week, the show's creator Danny Strong gives us a peek inside the royal Lyon family: revealing how he "

Episode 9: All in the Black Family

Nov 26th, 2015 17m 5s

The Sanfords. The Jeffersons. The Cosbys. The Winslows. The Banks's. And now the Lyons. In this special Thanksgiving episode, we talk about family: specifically, the evolution of the black family on television. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans tells

Episode 8: Young, Gifted, and Black — and Gay

Nov 19th, 2015 15m 17s

The first season of Empire pulled no punches when it came to addressing social issues pertaining to black families and hip hop culture. And one of the biggest plot-lines was Jamal’s: the talented middle Lyon child who is spurned by his dad beca

Episode 7: The Art of Blackness

Nov 12th, 2015 17m 45s

Much has been made of the fashion on Empire. But the show's visuals are stunning across the board — not just the costumes, but also the sets, and especially the visual art that decorates seemingly every surface. Walking through the Lyons' world

Episode 6: An Empire GIF for Every Occasion

Nov 5th, 2015 16m

That scene where Cookie takes Lyon family dinner to-go? Lucious's reaction to Jamal's coming out? Anika's killer dance moves?Tyler Menzel is the guy behind the GIFs. Maybe he didn't make them himself (though he's made plenty), but his company

Interlude: Walking in Cookie's Shoes...and Fedora

Oct 29th, 2015 16m 11s

Empire was pre-empted this week by the World Series. Whether you're a Mets fan or a Royals fan, on this we can agree: Everybody's a fan of Cookie Lyon. So this week, we went in search of someone who could tell us what it's like to walk in Cooki

Episode 5: Talking #JaMichael with Rafael de la Fuente

Oct 22nd, 2015 13m 46s

Sure, Episode 5 had some notable developments. Cookie found both a doggie and a lapdog. Andre got right with God. And that dirty hippie photographer...well, the less said about him, the better. But you know who really owned this episode? Michae

Episode 4: Gimme That Bomb Beat From... Hakeem?

Oct 15th, 2015 18m 1s

Empire is, at its dramatic heart, a show about hip hop culture. So it's about damn time we talk about the music. We dial up super producer Mark Batson, who crafted that anthemic Season Two opener, and also talk to writer and author Shea Serrano

Episode 3: Prowling the Catwalk with the Lyons

Oct 8th, 2015 18m 5s

We know … we’re only three episodes in, but we strongly felt the need to hit “pause” this week and acknowledge something fiercely consistent about Season 2 that we can no longer ignore – the threads in the Lyons den. From Cookie’s power ensembl

Episode 2: Ludacris, You Could've at Least Taught Lucious to Rap

Oct 1st, 2015 23m

After a bonkers season premiere, episode two of Empire gave us a much needed breather. So the Empire Afterparty had to bring back Kevin Brown, a.k.a. Dot Com from 30 Rock, to talk Blackness.

Episode 1: The Lyons, the Gorilla Suit, and the Wardrobes

Sep 24th, 2015 22m 46s

Listener discretion is advised, and spoilers ahead!The season 2 premiere of Empire was lit! We got Cookie in a gorilla suit, Cookie in a peacock suit, Lucious in jail, Lucious Skyping from jail, Marisa Tomei hitting on women, and Chris Rock pl

The Lyons Return

Sep 17th, 2015 12m 27s

Welcome to the Empire Afterparty, a weekly reflection, meditation, take-down, and twist on FOX's hit hip-hopera. In this episode, meet your host, writer and commentator Jozen Cummings, and learn about his affection for Lucious' scarves. Plus: N

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