List of Empire episodes

Empire is an American musical drama television series which debuted on Fox on January 7, 2015. The show centers around a hip hop music and Entertainment Company, Empire Records, and the drama among the members of the founders' family as they fight for control of the company. The series was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, and stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. The series' sixth and final season premiered on September 24, 2019,^[1][2] and concluded on April 21, 2020.^[3]

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released		Rank	Viewers (millions)
			First released	Last released
1	12		January 7, 2015 (2015-01-07)	March 18, 2015 (2015-03-18)	5	17.33[4]
2	18		September 23, 2015 (2015-09-23)	May 18, 2016 (2016-05-18)	5	15.94[5]
3	18		September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21)	May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24)	23	10.37[6]
4	18		September 27, 2017 (2017-09-27)	May 23, 2018 (2018-05-23)	52	7.45[7]
5	18		September 26, 2018 (2018-09-26)	May 8, 2019 (2019-05-08)	68	6.38[8]
6	18		September 24, 2019 (2019-09-24)	April 21, 2020 (2020-04-21)	80	4.04[9]

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

Main article: Empire season 1

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Lee Daniels	Lee Daniels & Danny Strong	January 7, 2015 (2015-01-07)	1AXP01	9.90[10]
2	2	"The Outspoken King"	Lee Daniels	Danny Strong & Ilene Chaiken	January 14, 2015 (2015-01-14)	1AXP02	10.32[11]
3	3	"The Devil Quotes Scripture"	Sanaa Hamri	Ilene Chaiken & Joshua Allen	January 21, 2015 (2015-01-21)	1AXP03	11.07[12]
4	4	"False Imposition"	Rosemary Rodriguez	Wendy Calhoun	January 28, 2015 (2015-01-28)	1AXP04	11.36[13]
5	5	"Dangerous Bonds"	John Singleton	Malcolm Spellman	February 4, 2015 (2015-02-04)	1AXP05	11.47[14]
6	6	"Out, Damned Spot"	Michael Engler	Eric Haywood	February 11, 2015 (2015-02-11)	1AXP06	11.96[15]
7	7	"Our Dancing Days"	Sanaa Hamri	Attica Locke	February 18, 2015 (2015-02-18)	1AXP07	13.02[16]
8	8	"The Lyon's Roar"	Danny Strong	Danny Strong	February 25, 2015 (2015-02-25)	1AXP08	13.90[17]
9	9	"Unto the Breach"	Anthony Hemingway	David Rambo	March 4, 2015 (2015-03-04)	1AXP09	14.33[18]
10	10	"Sins of the Father"	Rob Hardy	Eddie Gonzalez & Jeremy Haft	March 11, 2015 (2015-03-11)	1AXP10	14.90[19]
11	11	"Die But Once"	Mario Van Peebles	Ilene Chaiken	March 18, 2015 (2015-03-18)	1AXP11	15.82[20]
12	12	"Who I Am"	Debbie Allen	Danny Strong & Ilene Chaiken	March 18, 2015 (2015-03-18)	1AXP12	17.62[20]

Season 2 (2015–16)

Main article: Empire season 2

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
13	1	"The Devils Are Here"	Lee Daniels	Danny Strong & Ilene Chaiken	September 23, 2015 (2015-09-23)	2AXP01	16.18[21]
14	2	"Without a Country"	Dee Rees	Carlito Rodriguez	September 30, 2015 (2015-09-30)	2AXP02	13.74[22]
15	3	"Fires of Heaven"	Craig Brewer	Attica Locke	October 7, 2015 (2015-10-07)	2AXP03	13.10[23]
16	4	"Poor Yorick"	Danny Strong	Danny Strong	October 14, 2015 (2015-10-14)	2AXP04	12.22[24]
17	5	"Be True"	Kevin Bray	Wendy Calhoun & Janeika James	October 21, 2015 (2015-10-21)	2AXP05	12.28[25]
18	6	"A High Hope for a Low Heaven"	Mario Van Peebles	Robert Munic	November 4, 2015 (2015-11-04)	2AXP06	11.68[26]
19	7	"True Love Never"	Sylvain White	Ingrid Escajeda	November 11, 2015 (2015-11-11)	2AXP07	11.20[27]
20	8	"My Bad Parts"	Sanaa Hamri	Malcolm Spellman	November 18, 2015 (2015-11-18)	2AXP08	11.34[28]
21	9	"Sinned Against"	Paul McCrane	Eric Haywood	November 25, 2015 (2015-11-25)	2AXP09	9.21[29]
22	10	"Et Tu, Brute?"	Sanaa Hamri	Radha Blank	December 2, 2015 (2015-12-02)	2AXP10	11.81[30]
23	11	"Death Will Have His Day"	Danny Strong	Danny Strong	March 30, 2016 (2016-03-30)	2AXP11	12.46[31]
24	12	"A Rose by Any Other Name"	Michael Engler	Ilene Chaiken	April 6, 2016 (2016-04-06)	2AXP12	11.34[32]
25	13	"The Tameness of a Wolf"	Paris Barclay	Attica Locke & Joshua Allen	April 13, 2016 (2016-04-13)	2AXP13	10.11[33]
26	14	"Time Shall Unfold"	Cherien Dabis	Ayanna Floyd Davis	April 20, 2016 (2016-04-20)	2AXP14	9.56[34]
27	15	"More Than Kin"	Sanaa Hamri	Eric Haywood & Malcolm Spellman	April 27, 2016 (2016-04-27)	2AXP15	10.03[35]
28	16	"The Lyon Who Cried Wolf"	Millicent Shelton	Joshua Allen	May 4, 2016 (2016-05-04)	2AXP16	9.39[36]
29	17	"Rise by Sin"	Paul McCrane	Ayanna Floyd Davis & Jamie Rosengard	May 11, 2016 (2016-05-11)	2AXP17	9.81[37]
30	18	"Past Is Prologue"	Sanaa Hamri	Lee Daniels & Ilene Chaiken	May 18, 2016 (2016-05-18)	2AXP18	10.88[38]

Season 3 (2016–17)

Main article: Empire season 3

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
31	1	"Light in Darkness"	Sanaa Hamri	Malcolm Spellman & Joshua Allen	September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21)	3AXP01	10.87[39]
32	2	"Sin That Amends"	Craig Brewer	Cherien Dabis & Carlito Rodriguez	September 28, 2016 (2016-09-28)	3AXP02	9.65[40]
33	3	"What Remains Is Bestial"	Millicent Shelton	Diane Ademu-John & Eric Haywood	October 5, 2016 (2016-10-05)	3AXP03	9.25[41]
34	4	"Cupid Kills"	Hanelle Culpepper	Matt Pyken & Attica Locke	October 12, 2016 (2016-10-12)	3AXP04	9.27[42]
35	5	"One Before Another"	Mario Van Peebles	Joshua Allen & Carlito Rodriguez	November 9, 2016 (2016-11-09)	3AXP05	8.15[43]
36	6	"Chimes at Midnight"	Sanaa Hamri	Cherien Dabis & Eric Haywood	November 16, 2016 (2016-11-16)	3AXP06	8.39[44]
37	7	"What We May Be"	Kevin Bray	Diane Ademu-John & Malcom Spellman	November 30, 2016 (2016-11-30)	3AXP07	7.84[45]
38	8	"The Unkindest Cut"	Dennie Gordon	Attica Locke & Jamie Rosengard	December 7, 2016 (2016-12-07)	3AXP08	7.00[46]
39	9	"A Furnace for Your Foe"	Sanaa Hamri	Ilene Chaiken & Matt Pyken	December 14, 2016 (2016-12-14)	3AXP09	7.58[47]
40	10	"Sound and Fury"	Craig Brewer	Eric Haywood & Carlito Rodriguez	March 22, 2017 (2017-03-22)	3AXP10	7.95[48]
41	11	"Play On"	Benny Boom	Story by : Malcolm Spellman Teleplay by : Janeika James & Jasheika James	March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29)	3AXP11	6.91[49]
42	12	"Strange Bedfellows"	Bille Woodruff	Matt Pyken & Attica Locke	April 5, 2017 (2017-04-05)	3AXP12	6.35[50]
43	13	"My Naked Villainy"	Cherien Dabis	Joshua Allen & Jamie Rosengard	April 12, 2017 (2017-04-12)	3AXP13	6.59[51]
44	14	"Love Is a Smoke"	Tricia Brock	Diane Ademu-John & Cherien Dabis	April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)	3AXP14	6.31[52]
45	15	"Civil Hands Unclean"	Howard Deutch	Ilene Chaiken & Carlito Rodriguez	May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03)	3AXP15	5.60[53]
46	16	"Absent Child"	Millicent Shelton	Attica Locke & Malcolm Spellman	May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10)	3AXP16	6.32[54]
47	17	"Toil & Trouble, Pt. 1"	Craig Brewer	Diane Ademu-John & Eric Haywood	May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)	3AXP17	6.14[55]
48	18	"Toil & Trouble, Pt. 2"	Sanaa Hamri	Ilene Chaiken & Joshua Allen	May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24)	3AXP18	6.94[56]

Season 4 (2017–18)

Main article: Empire season 4

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
49	1	"Noble Memory"	Sanaa Hamri	Brett Mahoney	September 27, 2017 (2017-09-27)	4AXP01	7.05[57]
50	2	"Full Circle"	Craig Brewer	Craig Brewer & Eric Haywood	October 4, 2017 (2017-10-04)	4AXP02	5.89[58]
51	3	"Evil Manners"	Bille Woodruff	Matt Pyken & Carlito Rodriguez	October 11, 2017 (2017-10-11)	4AXP03	5.93[59]
52	4	"Bleeding War"	Sanaa Hamri	Diane Ademu-John & Jamie Rosengard	October 18, 2017 (2017-10-18)	4AXP04	5.65[60]
53	5	"The Fool"	Howie Deutch	Janeika James & Jasheika James	November 8, 2017 (2017-11-08)	4AXP05	5.40[61]
54	6	"Fortune Be Not Crost"	Sanaa Hamri	Joshua Allen & Dianne Houston	November 15, 2017 (2017-11-15)	4AXP06	6.05[62]
55	7	"The Lady Doth Protest"	Karen Gaviola	Matt Pyken & Eric Haywood	November 29, 2017 (2017-11-29)	4AXP07	5.05[63]
56	8	"Cupid Painted Blind"	Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum	Diane Ademu-John & Carlito Rodriguez	December 6, 2017 (2017-12-06)	4AXP08	5.68[64]
57	9	"Slave to Memory"	Sanaa Hamri	Joshua Allen & Dianne Houston	December 13, 2017 (2017-12-13)	4AXP09	5.95[65]
58	10	"Birds in the Cage"	Craig Brewer	Craig Brewer	March 28, 2018 (2018-03-28)	4AXP10	6.22[66]
59	11	"Without Apology"	Dianne Houston	Matt Pyken & Joshua Allen	April 4, 2018 (2018-04-04)	4AXP11	5.57[67]
60	12	"Sweet Sorrow"	Eric Haywood	Eric Haywood & Jamie Rosengard	April 11, 2018 (2018-04-11)	4AXP12	5.91[68]
61	13	"Of Hardiness is Mother"	Craig Brewer	Dianne Houston & Carlito Rodriguez	April 18, 2018 (2018-04-18)	4AXP13	5.41[69]
62	14	"False Face"	Millicent Shelton	Story by : Diane Ademu-John Teleplay by : Janeika James & Jasheika James	April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)	4AXP14	5.34[70]
63	15	"A Lean and Hungry Look"	Bille Woodruff	Matt Pyken & Joshua Allen	May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02)	4AXP15	5.28[71]
64	16	"Fair Terms"	Jussie Smollett	Dianne Houston & Jamie Rosengard	May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09)	4AXP16	5.02[72]
65	17	"Bloody Noses and Crack'd Crowns"	Howard Deutch	Carlito Rodriguez	May 16, 2018 (2018-05-16)	4AXP17	5.14[73]
66	18	"The Empire Unpossess'd"	Craig Brewer	Brett Mahoney & Joshua Allen	May 23, 2018 (2018-05-23)	4AXP18	5.30[74]

Season 5 (2018–19)

Main article: Empire season 5

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
67	1	"Steal from the Thief"	Sanaa Hamri	Brett Mahoney & Dianne Houston	September 26, 2018 (2018-09-26)	5AXP01	6.09[75]
68	2	"Pay for Their Presumptions"	John Krokidas	Yolonda E. Lawrence & Carlito Rodriguez	October 3, 2018 (2018-10-03)	5AXP02	5.09[76]
69	3	"Pride"	Clement Virgo	Diane Ademu-John & Joshua Allen	October 10, 2018 (2018-10-10)	5AXP03	5.15[77]
70	4	"Love All, Trust a Few"	Mario Van Peebles	Matt Pyken & Cameron Johnson	October 17, 2018 (2018-10-17)	5AXP04	5.21[78]
71	5	"The Depth of Grief"	Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum	Janeika James & Jasheika James & Jamie Rosengard	October 31, 2018 (2018-10-31)	5AXP05	4.23[79]
72	6	"What Is Done"	Jussie Smollett	Felicia D. Henderson & Thomas Westfall	November 7, 2018 (2018-11-07)	5AXP06	5.01[80]
73	7	"Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoils"	Tamra Davis	Joshua Allen & Dianne Houston	November 14, 2018 (2018-11-14)	5AXP07	4.89[81]
74	8	"Master of What Is Mine Own"	Dianne Houston	Matt Pyken & Yolonda E. Lawrence	November 28, 2018 (2018-11-28)	5AXP08	5.03[82]
75	9	"Had It from My Father"	Sanaa Hamri	Diane Ademu-John & Carlito Rodriguez	December 5, 2018 (2018-12-05)	5AXP09	5.04[83]
76	10	"My Fault Is Past"	Michael Goi	Craig Brewer & Cameron Johnson	March 13, 2019 (2019-03-13)	5AXP10	4.40[84]
77	11	"In Loving Virtue"	Clement Virgo	Felicia D. Henderson	March 20, 2019 (2019-03-20)	5AXP11	3.98[85]
78	12	"Shift and Save Yourself"	Dianne Houston	Matt Pyken & Thomas Westfall	March 27, 2019 (2019-03-27)	5AXP12	3.97[86]
79	13	"Hot Blood, Hot Thoughts, Hot Deeds"	Gabourey Sidibe	Diane Ademu-John & Evan Price	April 3, 2019 (2019-04-03)	5AXP13	4.12[87]
80	14	"Without All Remedy"	Craig Brewer	Jamie Rosengard	April 10, 2019 (2019-04-10)	5AXP14	3.76[88]
81	15	"A Wise Father That Knows His Own Child"	Dawn Wilkinson	Yolonda E. Lawrence & Carlito Rodriguez	April 17, 2019 (2019-04-17)	5AXP15	3.76[89]
82	16	"Never Doubt I Love"	Darren Grant	Joshua Allen & Thomas Westfall	April 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)	5AXP16	3.77[90]
83	17	"My Fate Cries Out"	Paul McCrane	Janeika James & Jasheika James & Cameron Johnson	May 1, 2019 (2019-05-01)	5AXP17	3.73[91]
84	18	"The Roughest Day"	Craig Brewer	Brett Mahoney & Felicia D. Henderson	May 8, 2019 (2019-05-08)	5AXP18	4.09[92]

Season 6 (2019–20)

Main article: Empire season 6

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
85	1	"What Is Love"	Sanaa Hamri	Dianne Houston & Brett Mahoney	September 24, 2019 (2019-09-24)	6AXP01	3.31[93]
86	2	"Got on My Knees to Pray"	Mario Van Peebles	Matt Pyken & Indira Gibson Wilson	October 1, 2019 (2019-10-01)	6AXP02	2.94[94]
87	3	"You Broke Love"	Howard Deutch	Yolonda E. Lawrence & Marcus J. Guillory	October 8, 2019 (2019-10-08)	6AXP03	2.79[95]
88	4	"Tell the Truth"	Bille Woodruff	Jamie Rosengard & Michael Martin	October 15, 2019 (2019-10-15)	6AXP04	2.74[96]
89	5	"Stronger Than My Rival"	Dawn Wilkinson	Janeika James & Jasheika James	November 5, 2019 (2019-11-05)	6AXP05	2.48[97]
90	6	"Heart of Stone"	Sanaa Hamri	Teleplay by : Stacy A. Littlejohn Story by : Stacy A. Littlejohn & Thomas Westfall	November 12, 2019 (2019-11-12)	6AXP06	2.60[98]
91	7	"Good Enough"	Gabourey Sidibe	Cameron Johnson & Evan Price	November 19, 2019 (2019-11-19)	6AXP07	2.65[99]
92	8	"Do You Remember Me"	Ruben Garcia	Leah Benavides Rodriguez & Carlito Rodriguez	November 26, 2019 (2019-11-26)	6AXP08	2.45[100]
93	9	"Remember the Music"	Geary McLeod	Matt Pyken & Indira Gibson Wilson	December 3, 2019 (2019-12-03)	6AXP09	2.55[101]
94	10	"Cold Cold Man"	Sanaa Hamri	Dianne Houston & Jamie Rosengard	December 17, 2019 (2019-12-17)	6AXP10	2.52[102]
95	11	"Can't Truss 'Em"	Clement Virgo	Michael C. Martin & Cameron Johnson	March 3, 2020 (2020-03-03)	6AXP11	2.43[103]
96	12	"Talk Less"	Dawn Wilkinson	Stacy A. Littlejohn & Marcus J. Guillory	March 10, 2020 (2020-03-10)	6AXP12	1.89[104]
97	13	"Come Undone"	Taraji P. Henson	Dianne Houston & Evan Price	March 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)	6AXP13	2.64[105]
98	14	"I Am Who I Am"	Ishai Setton	Colin Waite & Paul Eriksen	March 24, 2020 (2020-03-24)	6AXP14	2.72[106]
99	15	"Love Me Still"	Dianne Houston	Matt Pyken & Thomas Westfall	March 31, 2020 (2020-03-31)	6AXP15	2.58[107]
100	16	"We Got Us"	Clement Virgo	Janeika James & Jasheika James	April 7, 2020 (2020-04-07)	6AXP16	2.80[108]
101	17	"Over Everything"	Stephen D'Amato	Jamie Rosengard & Cameron Johnson	April 14, 2020 (2020-04-14)	6AXP17	2.69[109]
102	18	"Home Is on the Way"	Geary McLeod Bille Woodruff	Yolonda E. Lawrence & Michael C. Martin and Matt Pyken & Indira Gibson Wilson	April 21, 2020 (2020-04-21)	6AXP18	2.94[110]

Ratings

Season		Episode number																		Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
	1	9.90	10.32	11.07	11.36	11.47	11.96	13.02	13.90	14.33	14.90	15.82	17.62	–						12.97
	2	16.18	13.74	13.10	12.22	12.28	11.68	11.20	11.34	9.21	11.81	12.46	11.34	10.11	9.56	10.03	9.39	9.81	10.88	11.46
	3	10.87	9.65	9.25	9.27	8.15	8.39	7.84	7.00	7.58	7.95	6.91	6.35	6.59	6.31	5.60	6.32	6.14	6.94	7.61
	4	7.05	5.89	5.93	5.65	5.40	6.05	5.05	5.70	5.95	6.22	5.57	5.91	5.41	5.34	5.28	5.02	5.14	5.30	5.66
	5	6.09	5.09	5.15	5.21	4.23	5.01	4.89	5.03	5.04	4.40	3.98	3.97	4.12	3.76	3.76	3.77	3.73	4.09	5.58
	6	3.11	2.94	2.79	2.74	2.48	2.60	2.65	2.45	2.55	2.52	2.43	1.89	2.64	2.72	2.58	2.80	2.69	2.94	TBD

Empire : U.S. viewers per episode (millions)

Audience measurement performed by Nielsen Media Research^[111]