Am I the Only One Still Watching Empire?

I’m here to put out an AMBER Alert for the viewers of Empire!

You know, Empire? That FOX show that was every critic’s darling and advertiser’s best friend when it premiered last year? The show that won award after award and made primetime TV cool again in an age of streaming and on-demand binge watching? The show with a revolving door of guest stars from Alicia Keys to Marisa Tomei to Naomi Campbell to Kelly Rowland?

Ringing any bells?

Well if you’ve been out of the loop, the show kicked off its third season a few weeks ago, and still dominates Wednesday night ratings as it did when it first premiered last January. Its viewership, however, has dropped off considerably since the end of season 1 — the show that once used to draw in 16 million viewers per episode now pulls in an average of around 10 million.

I’ll be the first to admit that season two didn’t match up to the greatness of season one. Plot lines were dragged out, the decision to lengthen the season and split it into two parts created unnecessary filler episodes with more superfluous twists than any viewer should have to keep track of, the original songs featured on the show weren’t as catchy as they used to be (not that they ever really were), and some of the series’s topical forays into Black Lives Matter, sexual fluidity, and mental illness felt phoned in.

So I understand if you stopped watching. Or if you ended up watching much later after the season aired. I get it.

But after watching the first few episodes of season 3 in the last few weeks, I can assure you that Empire has struck back. It may not be better than ever, but it’s better than it has been in recent memory. Everyone’s stories are starting to become captivating again; last season (especially in the second half), the show stumbled in trying to create more character-driven episodes that didn’t rely entirely on wild plot twists that the first season became known for. Thankfully, it looks like Lee Daniels realized that Empire can’t be a black Mad Men, despite both shows being headed by frustratingly likable characters with alliterative names.

So if you stopped watching, do yourself a favor and start again. If you’ve never watched, consider this your push in the right direction.

And if you won’t watch for anything else, at least tune in for Mariah Carey’s guest spot.