Fox TV’s hip hop soap opera Empire returned with a vengeance on Wednesday night. The gay-themed TV musical easily beat out the competition with 12.2 million viewers and a 4.7 rating among adults ages 18-49.
Criminal Minds (CBS) came in a close 2nd in the 9 p.m. slot with 9.34 million viewers, according to TV By the Numbers.
It was one-two punch for Empire‘s co-creator Lee Daniels, who won a copyright infringement case on Wednesday.
A California judge threw out a lawsuit by Jon Astor-White, who claimed Empire ripped off his script idea.
The judge found no similarities between Astor-White’s script treatment for “King Solomon” and the Empire TV show.
