The first season of the American television series Empire premiered on January 7, 2015, and concluded on March 18, 2015, on Fox.

The first episode was watched by 9.90 million viewers and achieved an adult 18-49 rating/share of 3.8/11, making it the biggest series launch for the network since Touch premiered in 2012.

[2] The viewership of the series rose every single week, with the season finale, which aired on March 18, 2015, being watched by 17.62 million viewers and achieving an adult 18-49 rating/share of 6.9/21.

[4] Henson was named as the female lead on February 26, and Jussie Smollett was announced in a starring role.

[5] On March 10, 2014, Sidibe, who had previously worked with Daniels in Precious, was cast in a recurring role as Becky, Lucious' assistant.