Interviews with 'Empire" creator Danny Strong, showrunner Ilene Chaiken

How Danny and Lee Daniels ("The Butler") came up with "Empire"

Danny: At first, they thought it would make a great hip-hop musical movie. But Daniels said it might make a better TV show. "It was about a family. Great TV shows are about families. We started talking about 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty.' It kind of organically came from that concept."

Theories why the show is doing so well

Danny: "At the end of the day, it's good old-fashioned word of mouth. They like the show, they tell other people. It's just moving forward. It's also serving an audience that has been grossly under-represented... [When the show debuted], ratings were terrific. And our numbers in African Americans were huge. Our numbers in white households were fine.They were good, what is now considered a very respectable opening premiere. When we can grow in white households, that's the case it has a real crossover appeal. What I didn't realize not only did we grow in white households but we doubled in African American households! Combining those two, it kept growing and growing. It's still growing. It's quite exciting."

Jennifer Hudson coming back for season two?

Danny: "We're just starting to talk about season two. We love her. And she did a fantastic job. She has a song in the finale. It's certainly a possibility. She was lovely on set."

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Advantages of success

Danny: Early on, they had a hard time getting big names to show up. Courtney Love was an exception. By the time they were casting for the finale, celebrities were lining up to be on the show. "I ended up with this season finale with all these amazing performers."

What will the finale be like?

Danny: "A very explosive finale is not surprising. It's the nature of our storytelling. And many things go down. Many things will be resolved. Alliances will shift. And yet it may or may not be completely resolved by the time it's over."

Best spinoff possibility?

Danny: Porsha [Cookie's sassy assistant.]

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Influence of social media on Danny's writing?

Danny: I personally try to block it out. I'm not the only person writing the show... We have a killer writing staff. Everyone just brings their A game, they're so passionate about the show. I'm not sure if they're influenced or not. I remember that the bib exploded in the second episode. There was some talk about finding another bib moment. I actually cringed when that came up. It's not how I work. Someone did end up coming up with a great big moment... Everyone is just rolling up their sleeves doing the best jobs we can. That's going to be the mindset going into season two. Let's try to stick to our guns of what made these stories great.

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Prepping for a full second season [the first season is 12 episodes]:

Danny: "I don't know what we are doing at this point. I don't think 22 [episodes] is in the discussion."

TV goes by fast

Danny: "The crazy thing about television, it's just how fast it goes. By the time we got to the season finale, by the time we wrote it, we ran out of time... It was one of the faster written episodes of the season. At the end of the day, I think we pulled it off. People will dig it."

I also spoke with show runner Ilene Chaiken partway through the season in February.

The influence of social media: "I actually believe the feedback we get from the public is really important. I think as people who make popular entertainment, it behooves us to be responsive. We didn't have the benefit of that going in. We just did our best."

Importance of the two leads: "Both Taraji [P. Henson] and Terrence [Howard] are obviously the heart and soul of the show. They are both extraordinary actors. They set the bar, the reason the show is so good. They are leading the cast. And we write to them. They over deliver. The Cookie character just popped off the screen. It's something people want to see more of. She's visceral, larger than life. She is definitely a big big part of why the show is working like gangbusters."

How long will Lucious [with his ALS diagnosis] survive? "Let's just say the only way I'm going to answer that question. I don't foresee any future in which Terrence isn't on the show. In my very first meeting on the show with Danny Strong, he told me how we were going to tackle it. We are doing exactly what he envisioned."

The volume of original music: "It might be a challenge if we didn't have Timbaland and his team doing it. I'm not suggesting for a second it's easy. It's a huge challenge for us. But we know we have the best music producers we could have ever hoped for. And these performers aren't just actors playing musicians. They're musicians."

The brothers: "Because the characters are so special in their relationships, it's a matter of imagining and to some extent following who they are. They're really important story drivers for us, pursuing those relationships. Being real. Digging deep and not repeating ourselves, where they go and knowing there are turns they take that will make this show worth watching."

Jussie Smollett's gay storyline with Jamal: "I haven't actually experienced any backlash. It might be out there but most importantly, it's been something that people are engaged over. People are moved by it, interested in it and find it's really something worth talking about. That's what we strive for as storytellers."

Being on broadcast vs. pay cable: "We're being really frank in the way we tell stories. You might see a little more skin or here more language [if we were on HBO.] Apart from that, we aren't being pushed to soften anything. We are being allowed and encouraged to let these characters be complex and flawed."

TV preview

"Empire" season one finale, Wednesday, March 18, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fox