Empire is coming to an unceremonious end after changing the TV landscape

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Thanks to the coronavirus shutdown, the Fox drama won't be able to even answer the season-long question of “Who shot Lucious Lyon?” when it concludes tonight after six seasons. “At one point I had it shoehorned in there but it made me groan — I’m sure it would have made the fans groan,” says showrunner Brett Mahoney, who is still hoping for a proper finale, in an interview with Variety. “I wanted to make it as much of a finale as possible, but I wanted it to be satisfying.” As the Los Angeles Times' Tre'vell Anderson notes, "when Empire premiered in January 2015, the Taraji P. Henson- and Terrence Howard-led drama made waves. With its King Lear-inspired story line set in the world of hip-hop, the Fox series had massive social media buzz and high ratings to match, scoring at least nine straight weeks of ratings growth: the type of debut networks and creators dream of." Anderson adds: "With its mix of high drama — of the camp variety — flashy musical numbers and sociopolitically inspired story lines, the show was the fastest-growing new drama on television since Fox’s medical hit House 10 years prior. And it helped that everyone from Patti LaBelle and Mariah Carey to Don Lemon and André Leon Talley made cameos." Empire was even groundbreaking for being sold internationally, a rarity for a show with a black cast. “We were bold in our storytelling,” says Henson. “We came through kicking down doors. There was no topic that we would not take on, head-on, and they had the damn right cast to do it! That’s what helped shift the paradigm of writing (in the industry) and things that are getting greenlit now — and the fact that a black cast did it and it was successful globally.” When Mahoney suggested that Empire will find a creative way to get the proper finale to fans if shooting it becomes impossible, likely through releasing the script or a Zoom table read, Henson responded: “No, we want to shoot that baby. (Fans) want to see Cookie in her fur, honey. They don’t want to watch me read that looking crazy. We need to give people what they deserve because they have been loyal fans, and it just wouldn’t be right.”

Empire boss: I only needed five more days of shooting to combine the final two episodes into a proper series finale

“It was really shocking and it was hard to accept — and I haven’t really accepted it,” showrunner Brett Mahoney tells The Wrap of ending the series tonight with two episodes left to complete. “We shut down on March 13, but earlier that day, I had come up with a plan. If we could eke out five more days of shooting, I would have pulled forward elements of Episode 20 into Episode 19. ‘Cause we were halfway through 19 and I said listen, ‘If we just have five more days of shooting, I can pull out the elements of the finale and we can still have our series finale and just combine it with 19.' But it ended up not being realistic, we had to put the safety and health of our crew and our cast first. So once it was very clear that we needed to shut down, then it was, how can I craft a finale maintaining the elements that we wanted to get to in our series finale?"

Empire boss: We'll find a "creative" way to satisfy fans if we never shoot a proper series finale, like releasing the script

Showrunner Brett Mahoney acknowledges that bringing the cast together for a proper finale after the coronavirus shutdown will be a big challenge. “We don’t know what the costs will be in terms of keeping our sets,” he explains. “And then the question becomes who from the cast will be available at that point.” He adds: “Everyone wants to send the series off (properly). I can’t guarantee it will happen, but we’re hopeful. And if we don’t actually get a chance to shoot the series finale, I think we’ll find some creative way to get (the information) out there, whether it’s by just releasing the script or finding another way to satisfy fans.” ALSO: Watch Empire's virtual scoring session.

Empire boss on the abrupt series finale: "I think it’s a fulfilling finale in the sense that it has the spirit that we want"

“But no, it’s not completely fulfilling because I do feel there are elements, for instance the who blew up Cookie’s car, who shot Lucious, that we were not able to fulfill in this finale,” showrunner Brett Mahoney said of Tuesday's abrupt end to the Fox series after six seasons. Is Tuesday's episode the true end of Empire? "Hopefully it won’t be," Mahoney adds. "I mean, the hope and dream and prayer of all of us is that we actually can shoot the finale that we intended. Now, of course, the complications are when will that be, when is production going to be able to be up and running again, and when that date happens, will everyone be available? What about the stages, what about the cost, but I mean, we all do have a will to come together and shoot the actual finale." ALSO: Mahoney reveals what was planned for the original Empire series finale ending.

Taraji P. Henson: "I feel incomplete" with Empire's abrupt series finale

"It’s pretty sad," Henson tells EW of the abrupt series finale after six seasons. "Because we’ve developed such an amazing family over the years, and it’s just sad that we didn’t get to say goodbye the proper way. We didn’t get to throw our wrap party, the things that you do when you come to the end of a successful series like this one. I got everyone lovely letterman sweaters for our senior year/graduation, and I wasn’t there to give them out with a hug — and that hurts." Henson says she doesn't even know how Empire is supposed to end. "I have no idea," she says. "I will find out with the audience. I’m excited, because it’s the first time in my Empire career where I don’t know what’s happening." Henson tells showrunner Brett Mahoney that she's pushing for a proper farewell. "Just know that Cookie is pushing!" she says. "These posts and DMs that I’m getting, they are heart-wrenching. As an artist, to not be able to finish something that you started, that hurts me. I feel incomplete. I don’t ever start something and don’t complete it. And so, for me, it’s deep; I have to finish, or this will haunt me for the rest of my life and career. As it would the audience. And I don’t think we should deprive such a loyal fan base of that ending. They deserve to be in their feelings. They deserve more than this abrupt ending. And I get it, where we are right now, we have to be responsible. But I think when the dust settles, at the end of the day, the audience deserves it. Because they pay my bills! (both laugh)" ALSO: Empire stayed true to its soapy heart with its abrupt finale.

Empire goes out with its biggest audience since October, but the Grammys' Prince tribute topped Tuesday night

About 2.94 million watched the final (for now) episode of Empire. Meanwhile, the Maya Rudolph-hosted Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute To Prince was No.1 with 6.49 million viewers.