After announcing that “Empire” would be renewed for a 6thseason without Jussie Smollett, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier has just revealed that the upcoming 6th season will be the last for the show.
“We’re turning the final season of ‘Empire’ into a large television event,” Collier revealed to Entertainment Tonight. “One of the great benefits of announcing a final season is to allow the fans to lean in and to have the ending they deserve, and that's everything we're trying to do with this iconic series. Six years is a pretty remarkable run for a drama series and we feel good about it.”
Smollett has been under fire recently after being accused of staging a hate crime against himself in Chicago at the end of January. His character was written out of the show towards the end of season 5.
When asked if there’s a chance Smollett’s character would return during season 6 for a final farewell, Collier responded, “At this point, we have no plans for that. The writer’s room for next season hasn’t even gathered yet.”
It’s still entirely possible that Smollett’s character could make a brief return, as Fox has kept his contract going to keep the possibility of a future with Smollett’s character on the table.