December 11, 2014
In The Mix

Game Change

Ilene Chaiken is learning to sing a new tune as showrunner of Fox’s Empire.

Bruce Fretts

“I love music, but I’ve never done a music show before,” says the writer-producer-director, best known as the co-creator of Showtime’s lesbian drama The L Word.

“It’s a whole new storytelling element — this show is infused with exceptionally good music.” The drama, debuting January 7, casts Oscar nominee Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon, a hip-hop mogul who pits his three sons against one another in a battle to become his successor after he’s diagnosed with a terminal illness.

While the environment may be unfamiliar to Chaiken, the tone resonates with her strongly. “It’s what I love to do most: a serialized melodrama, a powerful family drama and a personal story,” she explains. “And I like game changers. I don’t get that excited unless I’m working on something that I feel is going to move the medium forward.”

Empire may do just that, as it examines tough topics (e.g., homophobia in the African-American community, domestic violence).

“I’m not finding any resistance to dealing with those issues,” Chaiken says. “Nobody is trying to water anything down.” True, she must work around more restrictions on language and nudity on Empire than she did on The L Word , but that’s not curtailing Chaiken’s creativity.

“Obviously on Showtime, you can go farther toward portraying sexual acts, but that’s not the same as portraying sexuality. Within the vocabulary of television, we have free rein to portray the stories of these characters.”

The show — from co-creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong — also gives free rein to the talents of Howard and his former Hustle & Flow costar Taraji P. Henson, as his vengeful, freshly paroled ex-wife, Cookie.

“I feel like they’ve been unleashed,” says Chaiken of Howard and Henson, who weren’t able to let loose on their previous TV procedurals, Law & Order: L.A. and Person of Interest, respectively. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen either of these characters on TV before — on cable, much less broadcast. It’s really thrilling to see them go for it.”

Chaiken is going for it, too, and proving her range. “I didn’t think just because I did a lesbian show, that meant it was all I could do,” she says. “I thought it was indicative that I could do many things. And I’ve never taken on anything I don’t love and believe in — I just make it my own.”

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