As Lee Daniels’ FOX show Empire wraps up, the Academy Award-nominated director has another show ready in the chamber, the musical drama series Star. The fresh FOX series is slated to premiere right after the season finale of Empire on December 14 at 9 p.m. EST, according to TVLine.
While Empire‘s storyline is mostly fantastical and light-hearted, Star takes on a more serious tone as it focuses on the lives of two foster sisters, Star Davis (Jude Demorest) and Simone Davis (Brittany O’Grady) and the affluent Alex Crane (Ryan Destiny), who all have beautiful voices. Traveling from their home to Atlanta to pursue their dreams of singing, the three girls look to beauty salon owner and friend of Star and Simone’s late mother, Carlotta Brown, played by Queen Latifah. Brown takes the trio in after they show up to her church where she was singing.
Tyrese, Lenny Kravitz, Joseline Hernandez, Naomi Campbell and Empire‘s Terrence Howard also appear in the film-quality show. Puff Daddy’s son Quincy, who was originally supposed to appear in Empire before Diddy put a stop to it, is also a recurring character in the show.
Lee Daniels’ more realistic approach with Star creates an immediate attachment to the characters Star, Simone and Alex, complete with tear-jerking scenes. Those who didn’t appreciate the romanticism of Empire will likely enjoy the rawness of Star. It’s clear Daniels’ goals are to snatch up television viewers who are fans of Power and would prefer a show that is more realistic. However, the music the trio performs in the show sounds really good for them to have recorded their music on an iPhone instead of in a studio with an engineer (not realistic).
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The pilot episode also takes a sharp jab at 50 Cent, after he’s publicly taken numerous blows to Empire and the show’s cast in favor of his gritty Starz show Power.
Check out the trailer for FOX’s Star below, which debuts December 14. Don’t forget the box of tissue.
