- Chuck Hodes/FOX
- Terrance Howard is Lucious Lyon, a King Lear for today.
Empire looks and sounds a lot like King Lear—if Timbaland had lived during Elizabethan times. Premiering Wednesday on Fox, this new primetime show is the latest in Shakespeare-inspired dramas, but a ferocious performance by its lead actress will have you mentally revisiting The Lion in Winter.
The acting ranges from average (Byers’s Andre is more pencil-pusher than schemer) to great, with Howard and Henson doing most of the heavy lifting. But Henson owns the premiere; she’s Eleanor of Aquitaine for the Jet set, and beyond. I’m anticipating lots of “Cookie Lyon strutting” gifs (get on it, Internet).
