Empire is in a dog fight for its own survival in the ratings race. Wednesday night’s episode was down 14% from last week’s midseason return — an all-time low for the series. Despite an expensive marketing budget, viewers did not return from the winter break.
Deadline.com — There were betrayals, guns, scheming grandmas, tunes and more on Empire last night as usual, but there weren’t as many viewers in the key demo. Still the highest-rated show of the night (though by thinner margins than usual), Fox’s hip-hop drama was down 14% from last week’s winter break return to hit a \series low. For a declining blockbuster like Empire, which has seen more than a few lows in its current third season, to put blame on its lead-in is thin gruel; the fact is the second week of Shots Fired (1.0/4) saw the limited series go down just a tenth from its March 22 debut.