In the television world, you often hear the shows, Empire and Power, being compared to one another, yet if you think about it, they really aren’t that similar. Yeah, both shows are violent and at one point in time someone in the show sold or is selling drugs, but what else do they have in common? Power is about a drug dealer and night club owner who goes by the name, Ghost, who is trying to build his professional career and stray away from the thug life. His wife and childhood best friend/partner in crime, only see him as Ghost and they aren’t too happy with him wanting to stop selling drugs. He also reconnects with a childhood friend/lover who is a federal agent, who is searching for Ghost, but neither of them know each other’s true identities in the beginning. Power involves drugs and violence heavily, and it is a pretty dark show, I usually have to watch Glee afterwards to cleanse my mind. The description of the show is all in the name, “Power,” that’s what everyone in the show wants, they want the power over everyone and everything around them, and once they get that power, they don’t know how to handle it, that’s their problem. Now Empire is fairly different from Power and I’m often confused as to why the two shows are compared.
Empire revolves around the dysfunctional Lyon family who’s business is music, they have family owned music company, and everyone ultimately wants to be the head of Empire. Cookie and Luscious have a love hate relationship, they have three sons together and started Empire together, but Cookie was in jail for 17 years so she didn’t get to experience any of the luxuries or the rise of Empire. Cookie’s main goal after being released from prison is to “get what’s hers” which is half of Empire, and build a relationship with her sons. In Empire, the things they do is out of love, there are violent scenes but there’s mostly a sense of guilt from those characters after those scenes, but with some of the characters in Power, they’re just straight up evil and vindictive, they have no regrets for their violence. In Empire, we see that most of the violence that does happen, stems from someone trying to protect or defend their loved one. Overall, Empire focuses mainly on music, and everybody loves music, the songs they play throughout the show definitely brightens the mood and makes the show more likable.
I can see why Empire and Power are often compared because they are both highly anticipated dramas, that are centered around a predominantly African American cast, but that is really the only thing that they have in common. Empire’s business is more family driven, and Power’s business is run by the streets and thugs, both situations lead to very different outcomes, and two very different shows. Although different, both shows will have you tuned all the way in, munching on your popcorn and sipping on your piping hot tea, the storylines and unlimited amount of drama in the shows is what makes them so successful, there’s no need to compare the two.