The most recent episode of Lee Daniels and Danny Strong's Empire, this week's Clement Virgo-directed "In Loving Virtue," bagged the lowest ratings in the show's history.
The episode premiered March 20 and scored a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with "just under" 4 million viewers, Varietyreported Friday. All told, the show fell 11 eleven percent in the ratings and 10 percent in total viewership when compared with last week’s episode, which itself showed a drop in overall viewership. The series' previous ratings low was a 1.2 rating with 4.2 million viewers back in 2018.
It's no doubt a tough path forward for the show in light of recent developments in the Jussie Smollett case. Daniels discussed the mood of the team following Smollett's arrest in a recent Instagram video, though he didn't mention the actor by name.
"These past couple of weeks have been a freakin' roller coaster," Daniels said. "We have, me and my cast have, experienced pain and anger and sadness and frustration and really don't know how to deal with it."
Last week, Smollett pleaded not guilty after being indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct in connection with an attack Chicago police are now claiming was a "hoax."
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