The forthcoming sixth season of hip-hop drama Empire will be its last, Fox Entertainment has announced.
As the New York Times reports, the network made the announcement today in unveiling its 2019-2020 television schedule.
While it was revealed earlier this month that actor Jussie Smollett would not reprise his role as Jamal Lyon for the sixth season, the Times notes that Fox executives declined to say if the decision to end the show was related to the national controversy surrounding the star.
Earlier this year, Smollet was removed from Empire's final fifth season episodes after filing a false police report about an allegedly staged hate crime. He was later cleared of all criminal charges, though the City of Chicago sued Smollett over the cost of the investigation.
A hit after first airing in January 2015, Empire had seen its ratings steadily decline in recent years. Its recent fifth season saw a 23 per cent drop in ratings, with the show sitting in a tie with ABC's A Million Little Things for 17th place among network entertainment shows.
Fox also announced that Empire will see its time slot change, moving from Wednesdays at 8 p.m. to Tuesday evenings at 9 p.m.
As the New York Times reports, the network made the announcement today in unveiling its 2019-2020 television schedule.
While it was revealed earlier this month that actor Jussie Smollett would not reprise his role as Jamal Lyon for the sixth season, the Times notes that Fox executives declined to say if the decision to end the show was related to the national controversy surrounding the star.
Earlier this year, Smollet was removed from Empire's final fifth season episodes after filing a false police report about an allegedly staged hate crime. He was later cleared of all criminal charges, though the City of Chicago sued Smollett over the cost of the investigation.
A hit after first airing in January 2015, Empire had seen its ratings steadily decline in recent years. Its recent fifth season saw a 23 per cent drop in ratings, with the show sitting in a tie with ABC's A Million Little Things for 17th place among network entertainment shows.
Fox also announced that Empire will see its time slot change, moving from Wednesdays at 8 p.m. to Tuesday evenings at 9 p.m.
