The fifth season of Empire has been momentous with the usual Lyon Family drama and Jamal’s “Big Gay Wedding” in last week’s episode which marked the first Black Gay Wedding in primetime television history. Empire has unsurprisingly been renewed for a sixth season, however, Jussie Smollett’s return to the series remains up in the air. As you recall he was already written out of the final two episodes of the season, and Deadline is reporting Fox has this statement to say: “By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for Season 6, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire,” Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV said in a statement to Deadline.“
Jussie has released a statement of his own, via his reps, in response to Fox’s aforementioned statement:
“We’ve been told that Jussie will not be on Empire in the beginning of the season but he appreciates they have extended his contract to keep Jamal’s future open,” Jussie’s rep said. “Most importantly he is grateful to Fox and Empire leadership, cast, crew and fans for their unwavering support.”
Honestly this does not sound like a mutual agreement between Jussie and the network. Still, the option for him to come back has been left over. Perhaps they are waiting to see how his civil suit works out. As you may already know, Kim Foxx, Cook County’s State Attorney is being brought under investigation for how she handled his now dismissed case. We will keep you posted!
