Empire

Empire: Season 2, Part 2

Empire: Season 2, Part 2

If Empirestretches audience goodwill a little too far, perhaps it can be forgiven; whatever its flaws, it never fails to entertain.
On the Aggressive, Hilarious Theorizing in ‘Censorship Now!!’

On the Aggressive, Hilarious Theorizing in ‘Censorship Now!!’

Ian F. Svenonius' is a refreshing voice amidst the irony-addled sad-sack defeatism of postmodernity.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 10 – “Et tu, Brute?”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 10 – “Et tu, Brute?”

Given this episode's recycling of season one's plot, it seems as though we’ve maybe seen most of what Empire has to offer.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 9 – “Sinned Against”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 9 – “Sinned Against”

This week's episode "Sinned Against" was aptly titled, as it seemed a blatant transgression against believability and audience investment in the show.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 8 – “My Bad Parts”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 8 – “My Bad Parts”

At only halfway through the show’s second season, there is still a lot of space for Empire's writers to surprise us, but the further the show strays into melodramatic cliche, the less likely it seems they will.
Empire: Season 2, Episodes 5-6 – “A High Hope for a Low Heaven” / “True Love Never”

Empire: Season 2, Episodes 5-6 – “A High Hope for a Low Heaven” / “True Love Never”

By introducing new plot lines and dramatic twists and turns without ever really capitalizing on the ones already set up, Empire's offering too many loose ends and half-developed characters about whom it's incredibly difficult to care.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 5 – “Be True”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 5 – “Be True”

This week’s episode was full of the kinds of antics expected in the Empire universe; however, Lee Daniels and company showed with this week’s episode that there are any number of relationship dynamics still left to be explored.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 4 – “Poor Yorick”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 4 – “Poor Yorick”

As Lucious' legal troubles are put to bed, things within the family get even more complicated.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 3 – “Fires of Heaven”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 3 – “Fires of Heaven”

Empire, has always been chess match played in a flamboyant, Machiavellian style, but this episode’s moves were so clearly telegraphed that it’s hard to admire them.
Empire’s Latest Episode Promises More than Just Gags

Empire’s Latest Episode Promises More than Just Gags

The second episode of Empire's second season gives audiences more of what they came for: narrative, character development, and strained relationships.
‘Sapiens’ Takes the Long View on the History of Humanity

‘Sapiens’ Takes the Long View on the History of Humanity

Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens is a brilliant exercise in counterfactuals: what could, might and should've been.

Can Television Be a Solution to Hollywood’s Diversity Problem?

Can Television Be a Solution to Hollywood’s Diversity Problem?

We are living in the second Golden Age of Television, and not just because the writing is so good: TV is where we can tune in for real diversity.