Wednesday night was all “Empire” from 8 to 10pm. The show scored 16.7 million total viewers and a 6.5 in the key demo. It had a 20 share. This is called a phenomenon.
Not much else happened because the rest of broadcast TV was in reruns. At 10pm, two shows– the “CSI Cyber” premiere and Diane Sawyer’s special about “The Sound of Music” — tied at around 7.3 million viewers. They skewed to older audiences. I missed “CSI” but I did watch Julie Andrews, and the show was lovely. I figure “CSI” I will be seeing in reruns and syndication for years to come.
Meanwhile, the “Empire” CD is number 2 on amazon and on iTunes, selling like hot cakes right behind Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly.” If “Empire” can sustain story burnout– too many plots, characters, and quick things going by– they could go a possible four or five seasons. But it will be tough at this rate. Every show like this– huge sudden successes–like “thirtysomething,” “Moonlighting,” and now even “Glee”– cannot sustain itself for too long. So let’s enjoy it while we can.
