If you take a look at how many people have been watching Fox’s Empire on a week to week basis, you might assume that its fanbase can’t grow anymore. But there are undoubtedly millions of people out there who were waiting on the show to hit Netflix before diving into Lucious Lyon’s controversial life. Those folks will be disappointed, however, as the hit series has bypassed the more popular service for an exclusive deal with Hulu. Somebody grab Hakeem to write a hook about this.
Empire has already made itself at home on Hulu since its January premiere, and apparently that’s a comfortable enough home for Fox, as they made a deal with the TV-friendly streaming service for not just Season 1, but for all future seasons as well – at least at this point. And there are definitely going to be future seasons, as this is one of Fox’s biggest hit series ever. Season 2 has already locked up appearances from Oprah and Common, and they might be shooting for Denzel Washington at some point if all things go according to plan.
Craig Erwich, Hulu’s Head of Content, says that Empire has been one of Hulu’s top shows, according to EW. I wouldn’t be surprised if the company saw a surge in users because of this deal, as the series’ popularity is a runaway train at this point.
Empire’s double-length season finale aired Wednesday night and, unshockingly, vaulted up even higher in the ratings, something that the show has done every single week. Initial numbers show that the first hour drew 16.7 million viewers – up 1.8 million from last week’s episode – and the finale hour went up to 17.6 million. And both of those will probably adjust even higher once DVR results are added in. Now I’m waiting to see if whatever Fox airs next Wednesday night does amazing numbers based on people tuning in and forgetting that Empire’s first season already concluded.
Hell, even the series’ soundtrack is kicking ass, having debuted at #1 on Billboard in its first week of release. People can’t get enough of this music, including “Drip Drop,” which you can listen to below.
Those who don’t have Hulu Plus should probably get on board at some point, but there’s still an alternative for anyone who doesn’t need another streaming subscription in their lives. Empire will still be made available through Fox’s on demand service.
