LUCIOUS LYON: CEO of Empire, diagnosed with ALS, trying to take his company public
COOL WITH:
- Hakeem, his youngest son and an emerging rap star
STRAINED WITH:
- Cookie, his ex-wife and a producer at Empire; the two recently slept together and Lucious promised to leave his fiancee but he backed off
- Jamal, the middle son who rudely refuses to not be gay
- Andre, his oldest son who has no musical proclivity and suffered a psychiatric break in which he threatened Lucious with blackmail
- Vernon, his attorney, who previously helped cover up a murder Lucious committed
AT ODDS WITH:
- Anika, his fiancee, who caught him sleeping with Cookie and is now working with Judd Nelson
- Judd Nelson, a rival record label owner who's threatened to ruin Empire if it goes public
- Detective Walker, investigating the murder of Lucious's deceased body man, Bunkie
- Bunkie's ghost, since Lucious shot him in the face
COOKIE LYON: Lucious's ex, mother to the three sons, producer at Empire, recently released from prison
COOL WITH:
- Jamal, with whom she's working to launch his career. He's also the only son who ever visited her while she was incarcerated.
- Andre, though at this point it's only in the sense that they haven't clashed over anything.
- Hakeem, who was just a baby when she went to prison; they've seemingly patched things up since then
STRAINED WITH:
- Lucious (see above)
- Agent Carter, a fed who got Cookie out early in exchange for her grand jury testimony against a drug lord, possibly putting Cookie at risk
AT ODDS WITH:
- Anika, her rival for both Empire's creative direction and Lucious's affections
- Said drug lord's organization, since she testified and subsequently put a hit out on one of their guys due to bad information
ANIKA GIBBONS: Former head of A&R at Empire, and formerly engaged to Lucious
COOL WITH:
- Judd Nelson, head of a rival record company who's working to destroy Empire
STRAINED WITH:
AT ODDS WITH:
- Everyone else.
ANDRE LYON: Oldest son, business minded
COOL WITH:
- Vernon, Lucious's attorney who's decided to back him in the war of succession
- Cookie (see above)
STRAINED WITH:
- Both his brothers, since they're musical and he isn't
- Lucious, who doesn't trust him and dislikes his attempts to fit in with white society
- Rhonda, his wife, who pushes him to do what it takes to get control of Empire while also trying to make sure he's addressing his bipolar disorder
AT ODDS WITH:
- Detective Walker, to whom he gave a false alibi for Lucious
JAMAL LYON: Middle son, R&B artist, recently came out publicly
COOL WITH:
- Hakeem, who supports his decision to come out and wants to work with him on musical projects
- Cookie, though he's not thrilled that she got back with Lucious
STRAINED WITH:
- Andre (see above)
- Lucious (see above)
AT ODDS WITH:
- Nobody right now.
HAKEEM LYON
COOL WITH:
- Jamal, Lucious, Cookie (see above)
- Naomi Campbell, his girlfriend who's older than him
STRAINED WITH:
- Andre
AT ODDS WITH:
- Nobody, at the moment