Showrunner Hopes 'Empire' Is 'On The Crest Of A Wave Of Change'

Transcript

ARUN RATH, HOST:

The biggest most dramatic show on TV is back.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "EMPIRE")

BRYSHERE Y. GRAY: (As Hakeem Lyon) My first order of business is removing Lucious Lyon as CEO.

TARAJI P. HENSON: (As Cookie Lyon) I need to get my company back before he destroys it.

GEALEY: (As Anika) Empire is Lucious Lyon. Without him, the company is nothing.

RATH: "Empire," the wildly successful primetime soap opera about drug dealer turned record industry mogul, Lucious Lyon, and the fight between Lyon, his ex-wife and three sons for control of the family business. Season 2 kicks off next week, so show runner Ilene Chaiken, who also headed up "The L Word" on Showtime, dropped by our studios. Ilene Chaiken, welcome to the program.

ILENE CHAIKEN: Thanks for having me.

RATH: So I got a sneak peek at Season 2 - no spoilers - so I can't say much, other than maybe - wow. You packed a lot in to that first episode.

CHAIKEN: Oh, come on. That was nothing. It's "Empire."

RATH: Now, you've been involved with successful television in the past. But this show - I mean, this has added viewers every single episode last season until about 17 million people watched the finale. I thought the conventional wisdom was, those kind of days of broadcast TV were over.

CHAIKEN: That was the conventional wisdom. Certainly, I don't know whether we've changed the game or the conventional wisdom. Although, I believe in television, and I think that "Empire" is indicative that if you're telling fresh stories and telling them well and you've found something that taps into a rich cultural vein, that there is still a great audience for television. There's no secret, other than to just really be unafraid and to do something new.

RATH: Well, you came on to the show after the pilot was filmed. So what attracted you to it when they came to you and asked you if you were interested in this show?

CHAIKEN: I saw the pilot that Lee Daniels and Danny Strong had made, and I wasn't looking to do somebody else's show at that time. I was developing my own, and it's what I generally prefer to do. But I went and I watched the pilot and came out of the room with a completely different point of view. I knew I had seen something. I actually, as I was walking out of the room, got on the phone, called my agent and my manager and said, I have to do this. Tell me what I need to do to get this job because, I can't tell you exactly why, but the show is a game changer. I just know it is.

RATH: Can you talk about some of the stuff that you saw in it? What was it in that pilot episode that stayed with you?

CHAIKEN: It just worked. It worked powerfully. It's a drama about an African-American family, and that hasn't been on broadcast television. There have been comedies. When I did "The L Word," I thought, the real win here, the real difference is that we've got a drama. Gay characters have been on television in comedies, but starring in a drama is very different because we're asking you to take us seriously. But I think that it was the combination of these characters and the cultural experience that they represent, along with the music and the very high entertainment value that made me feel like this could be a very big hit.

RATH: What's different in terms of the creative process? Or is it different?

CHAIKEN: Every creative process is different. This show has this cultural specificity that's really important. I mean, it's about African-American experience. That's essential to the success of the show, to the honesty of the show. So that's the most different thing about me running this show. I've never done that before. It's my job to be the steward of that and to make sure that my colleagues bring experience and knowledge and voice to the show.

RATH: How do you do that?

CHAIKEN: I hire a lot of African-American writers. I listen to Lee. I listen to the actors who portray these character, and I, from a distance sometimes, just make sure that we're always being true to the essence of the show.

RATH: Do you think that the success of "Empire" has changed Hollywood?

CHAIKEN: That's such a - it would be high flown of me to say it. I hope that the success of "Empire" is part of a change in Hollywood. Rather than taking credit for the change, I'd like to think that we're on the crest of a wave of change.

RATH: Ilene Chaiken is show runner and one of the executive producers of "Empire." Season 2 premiers on Wednesday. Thank you so much. It's been great speaking with you.

CHAIKEN: Good speaking to you. Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.