Empire’s season 1 finale is the most successful rookie season finale in exactly a decade.
On March 18, 2015, nearly 21.1 million viewers tuned in to watch death, pregnancy, imprisonment and Cookie looking fantastic the entire time, making the season 1 finale the highest-rated since season 1 finale of Grey’s Anatomy on May 22, 2005.
Empire’s ratings have been rising from episode to episode, and the finale drew in 12% more viewers than the previous week’s episode.
According to USA Today, season 2 will premiere on September 23 and will bring 18 more episodes of intrigue, scheming and overwhelming hunger for more.