Photos: 'Empire' facts you need to know

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Photos: 'Empire' facts you need to know

Photos: 'Empire' facts you need to know

Since its 2015 premiere, Fox's "Empire" has broken big TV records and is consistently the top trending item on Twitter during its Wednesday night broadcasts. Click through to find out some interesting facts about your newest guilty pleasure, courtesy of IMDb and E! Photo: Chuck Hodes/FOX

"Empire" marks the first series for executive music producer Timbaland, who has worked with Jay Z, Justin Timberlake and Rihanna, amongst other artists.(Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for Revd)

Quincy Brown, the adopted son of Sean "Puffy" Combs and the biological son of singer Al B. Sure!, was in talks to play Hakeem, but Combs reportedly squashed the deal over rights to the music used on the show. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Kari Feinstein)

Jussie Smollett is the older brother of "Friday Night Lights" actress Jurnee Smollett-Bell. As kids, the two appeared -- along with their other siblings -- on the TV show "On Our Own."

Wesley Snipes was considered for the part of Lucious Lyon before Terrence Howard was ultimately cast. "Taraji says, 'I really want to do this role with Terrence Howard,'' producer Lee Daniels said. "I didn't think he was going to do it." (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Lee Daniels' inspiration for Cookie was Joan Collins on the '80s soap opera "Dynasty." Taraji P. Henson claims her father and Cookie are actually a lot alike. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Lee Daniels made Terrence Howard change his bouffant from the first two episodes -- which Howard likened to a Prince hairdo -- to the sleeker look he now sports. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

"Empire" draws heavily on show creator Lee Daniel's life. "When I was 5, my earliest memory was walking down the stairs in my mother's red high heel shoes, and my dad—he's a cop—is down playing cards with the boys and it was not pretty—at all," Daniels said. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

Danny Strong, who played Jonathan on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," co-created "Empire" with Lee Daniels, after they worked on "The Butler" together. He also wrote the screenplays for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" and "Game Ghange." (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

"Empire" marks Bryshere Gray's acting debut, and saved him from becoming homeless. "I'm from West Philadelphia," he said. "Before I got the 'Empire' gig, I was broke and I was about to get evicted." He reportedly did his "Empire" audition over Facetime. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

"Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes has tweeted about her love of "Empire." "So now I am all about Empire. ALL ABOUT #EMPIRE, tweeples," she tweeted. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

According to Fox, Empire is the only primetime scripted series to grow in total viewers over each of its first five telecasts since at least 1991. CR: Chuck Hodes/FOX

The show portrays the events and story as taking place in New York City, and uses establishing skyline shots of NYC. However none of the street scenes appear to be New York and it is actually filmed in Chicago. CR: Chuck Hodes/FOX

Model Naomi Campbell, who plays Hakeem's love interest Camilla, had given up on acting and said it was designer Diane von Furstenberg who encouraged her to take the role.Photo credit: Chuck Hodes/FOX

The "Empire" soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released March 10. (Chuck Hodes/FOX)

Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard first appeared together in the 2005 film "Hustle & Flow," which also featured a hip-hop subplot. Howard was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance, but lost out to Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Capote." Alan Spearman / Paramount Classics. Pic received on 3/15/06.

The show is a retooling of Williams Shakespeare's play King Lear, and also took inspiration from the play "The Lion in the Winter." CONTRIBUTED BY FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

Taraji P. Henson reportedly improvises a lot of her lines. "When I'm in the moment, those lines just come!" Henson said. "I love it! (Terrence Howard) loves to come to me for one-liners, too, ‘cause he knows I'm really good at it." (AP Photo/Fox, Chuck Hodes)

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Since its 2015 premiere, Fox's "Empire" has broken big TV records and is consistently the top trending item on Twitter during its Wednesday night broadcasts. Click through to find out some interesting facts about your newest guilty pleasure, courtesy of IMDb and E! Photo: Chuck Hodes/FOX

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