Fox renews ‘Empire’ for season 6, without Jussie Smollett

After much rumor and speculation about whether Empire would be renewed for another season, FOX announced that the hit music drama will return for a sixth season -- and will continue without actor Jussie Smollett.

Ny Magee

Apr 30, 2019

After much rumor and speculation about whether Empire would be renewed for another season, FOX announced that the hit music drama will return for a sixth season — and will continue without actor Jussie Smollett.

Smollett, who plays middle son and singer Jamal Lyon on the series, was written out of the final two episodes of season five amid the controversy surrounding his alleged hate crime hoax. Although all of the charges were dropped from his case, the situation continues to loom over his career and future with the show that man Smollett a household name. While he remains under contract, his character isn’t scheduled to return, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for season six, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire,” Fox and producer 20th Century Fox TV say in a statement.

Smollett was accused of paying brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo to stage a racially-charged and homophobic attack on himself in Chicago back in January, but investigators determined he lied about the incident for politically motivated reasons.

The actor/singer was hit with 16 felony charges for filing a false police report, but they were dropped after he agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bond and perform community service at Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition.

Smollett has always maintained his innocence and his Empire co-stars recently penned a letter to the network and the show’s producers pleading with them not to kick him to the curb.

Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has filed a civil suit against Smollett after he failed to pay back over $100K in overtime pay to the officers who worked his bogus case. In addition, the two brothers have filed a defamation lawsuit against Smollett’s attorneys.

According to Star magazine, the 36-year-old actor reportedly begged Fox executives not to terminate his contract. A spokesperson for Smollett said in a statement, “We’ve been told that Jussie will not be on ‘Empire’ in the beginning of the season but he appreciates they have extended his contract to keep Jamal’s future open. Most importantly he is grateful to Fox and ‘Empire’ leadership, cast, crew and fans for their unwavering support, from the Variety story.

Empire creator Lee Daniels previously got candid about the situation, telling Extra that “it is a sad time” for the cast who “are slowly healing,” he said, adding “I can’t judge.”

Daniels called Smollett his “son” during the interview and made clear that he has nothing but support and compassion for the embattled star.