Okay, it's time to discuss this. This success on the network is crazy. Shoot.

People have been waiting for that next big thing since The Walking Dead. The fact that it's about to reach the walking dead leven in ratings is just amazing.

A show for blacks that caters to both men and women. You could definitely make a point that Murder and Scandal are way more female-centered.

Black people.

Them Black people.

Empire has achieved the one thing Studios have been trying to figure out for years.that is major crossover appeal. More white and Asian people listen to hip hop then black people so to have a show about a hip hop dynasty is just icing on the cake. adding the fact that you have a fantastic cast. what is amazing is that this show went up a million viewers in just 6 days. it's like word of mouth is hitting everywhere and everybody wants to know what the fuss is about. At this rate we could be approaching 15 million viewers by the time its season finale in 4 weeks.this is pretty much the walking dead 2.0

I don't know, I'm confused by the difference between it and Scandal in the ratings, Scandal seemed to have as strong a hold on the black community zeitgeist as you could, and white people love Scandal and Shonda Rhimes too, Scandal has a great female/male split, etc. So how is it 60%+ higher than Scandal? If Scandal was the 5.0 and Empire the 3.0 it would make more sense than the other way around.

Scandal is a show for married people.

Empire advertised itself as the next big thing with black people, not for black people. I think that made the biggest difference.

I'd also argue that the Hustle & Flow connection played a role for the black community at least.

The hype for this show is now getting bigger and bigger. Major networks Like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ET, Extra and Access Hollywood are all talking about its ratings. The soundtrack is pre sales are great and last week episode went up to 14 million viewers and 5.4. I think it's safe to say the final episode will hit 17 million. Talk about huge crossover appeal.

Well, it looks like the second season will premiere with 20+ million viewers. When was the last time a TV series episode pulled such numbers (post Super-Bowl spot aside)?

The last broadcast series airing in its regular timeslot to rate higher was Fox’s “House” in September 2009, while the last freshman finale to rate higher was ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” in May 2005. The last series to wrap its first season with a larger audience was CBS’ “The Mentalist” in 2009 (16.8 million).

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/ratings ... 201456077/

Wow

I wonder if this will spark the return of network TV? (I doubt it)

So, I guess this is pretty much a lock to hit 20+ million viewers for the season premiere, right?