Empire - Jussie Smollett not returning for Final Season - best f y

Why did Fox extend embattled Empire star Jussie Smollett‘s contract through the sixth and final season if producers never intended to bring him back? Fox’s top exec clarified the seemingly counter-intuitive move on Wednesday at the Television Critics Assoc. summer press tour.

“As much as anything in cases like this, and they’re all so unique, you try gather all the information,” Charlie Collier, CEO Fox Entertainment, explained. “You try to make a good decision at the time. [Series creator Lee [Daniels] is right. There’s no plans for Jussie to return to Empire.”