3 Ways Danny Strong Knew 'Empire' Would Be a Hit: Twitter, TMZ, and Rhonda's Bib
Empire was, without a doubt, the biggest thing that happened to TV in 2015. Fox’s hip-hop drama captivated viewers from its stunning January premiere and only grew in ratings and buzz over the first season. The show blended compelling characters, jaw-dropping plot twists, and electric performances from the cast — particularly Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Taraji P. Henson as Cookie. It wasn’t long before Empire, which also earned a Globe nom today for Best Drama Series, was dominating the zeitgeist with its catchy songs, fabulous clothes, and oft-imitated dialogue.
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That’s one of the things Empire co-creator Danny Strong is most proud of. “Everyone has certain goals with their projects. Some people want awards, some people want box office and ratings. I’m more than happy to be part of those conversations, but when something breaks through in a pop culture way or breaks through into the news cycle, to me, that’s really exciting,” he tells Yahoo TV.
“That’s when I feel like something is being accomplished, because the work is becoming part of a larger conversation.”
Though Strong hasn’t had much of a chance to reflect on Empire’s success (“I haven’t really had a chance to!” he insists), he named three moments when he knew the show was on its way to being the pop cultural behemoth it is today:
When he knew Empire was going to be big:
“I thought it was going to be big when we premiered and we were all live-tweeting and when the numbers were coming in — how we were trending and the number of people who were retweeting, which was instantaneous information we could get — and a friend of mine, who is very savvy about Twitter and the Internet, turned to me and said, ‘This is unbelievably huge.’ It gave me a sense of, 'Wow, this could be a thing.’”
When he knew Empire was really special:
“I think when I got cornered by TMZ to do an interview about Empire, I thought, 'Wow, this is kind of crazy. Why is TMZ cornering ME?’ Then, they ran it. That’s when I thought, ‘This show is really big if they’re running something like an interview with me.’ They got me when I walked out of a bar, where we were celebrating the show. They had it staked out, and I had a few drinks in me. I felt cornered!”
When he knew Empire was conquering pop culture:
“When our second episode aired, not only did we go up in the ratings, which was crazy, but then there were all these stories about Rhonda’s bib. When this one crazy little thing is the subject of multiple Internet stories, that’s when I thought, ‘This show is becoming a pop culture thing.’ Isn’t that funny? That was a big telling moment — reading like four different stories about Rhonda’s bib. I felt like we were having a pop culture moment.”
Empire returns March 30 for the second half of Season 2 on Fox.
More Toast of 2015 interviews:
Christian Slater on the Moment He Knew 'Mr. Robot’ Would Be a Hit
