June 22--To borrow a line from Lucious Lyon, who was plotting his resurgence as he sat in a prison cell charged with murder in the season finale of "Empire": "Game time, (expletive)."
"Empire" is scheduled to begin filming Season 2 this week in Chicago. The highly rated hip-hop drama had already filmed 10 of the first season's 12 episodes when it premiered on Fox in January, which is why the shoot and its actors were somewhat able to fly under the radar in the city at the time. That will change now that "Empire" is a ratings juggernaut, finishing first last season among network TV series in attracting viewers in the 18-49 demographic.
The cast has become significantly more recognizable. The media and public will now likely be more curious about the storylines (including spoilers) filming in Season 2, which was bumped up to 18 episodes because of to the show's popularity. The company booking extras for the show, 4 Star Casting, says Chicagoans are showing more interest in being on "Empire" than they do for other projects filming in the city (4 Star has been looking for people to play prisoners and guards this week). And then there are the celebrity cameos, which might top last season's already impressive list: Chris Rock, Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz are reportedly scheduled to take part in Season 2, and Chicago rapper-turned-actor Common told me in March he also agreed to appear on the show. How could he say no?
With all due respect to NBC's "Chicago Fire" and Showtime's "Shameless," the city hasn't seen a massive television hit like "Empire" since "ER" filmed in here during its 15-season run.
"Empire" is set in New York but films entirely in Chicago because, according to Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal, 20th Century Fox enjoys the city's production values and has plenty of experience shooting here. Moskal estimated that about half "Empire" was filmed at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios on the West Side and half filmed on location. "ER" shot mostly at Warner Bros. Studios in the Los Angeles area but was set in Chicago, which is why the medical drama visited four times a year to shoot exterior scenes.
Former "ER" executive producer Christopher Chulack recalled how simple it was to film the show in Chicago before the first season -- which averaged 19 million total viewers per episode -- began airing in 1994.
"We were just a film company shooting -- no big deal," Chulack said over the phone Friday. "But after the show hit the air, the next trip back to Chicago, we couldn't move. I remember doing a scene with George Clooney and Anthony Edwards in front of the Wrigley Building. I turn around and there are 2,000 people gathered around and production assistants holding back people yelling 'George.' It was a big shift. We had to change hotels to the Ritz-Carlton because it was a little more secure.
"One night on that same trip, we were shooting at night around the Water Tower. It took time to light it, so George was sitting by himself in a tuxedo. People started grabbing at him and it got out of hand. I had to pull him into a restaurant and asked if we could just hang out in a booth. It was kind of fun and kind of scary. We had to make sure we had more security after that. The first five years of ER was like being with the Beatles."
TV stars of the past tended to be higher profile than the ones we have now. There used to be fewer TV options, which explains how "ER" averaged an astronomical 30 million viewers per episode during its peak. The hysteria for "ER" in Chicago could also have been due, in small part, to the fact that there were fewer TV shows and movies filming here than there are now.
"In recent years, we've had a number of different productions filming here," Moskal said. "It's not that I think Chicagoans don't get excited seeing (TV shows filming), it's just hardly a novelty anymore. We haven't seen them draw crowds in the same way that 'Transformers' does with its pyrotechnics. Once people see what's going on, the excitement can wear off. It's a long process."
That's not to say the cast of "Empire" won't attract gawkers and autograph hounds. Jussie Smollett -- who plays singer Jamal Lyon, named the heir to Lucious Lyon's Empire Entertainment record label in the season finale -- told me in March that someone snapped a photo of him eating a salad in a restaurant here. It's exactly the sort of intrusiveness he can expect from now on. Taraji P. Henson should draw even more attention. The Oscar-nominated actress was already famous before "Empire." She has since reached a new level of fame, becoming the show's Clooney, so to speak, thanks her standout portrayal of fan favorite Cookie Lyon.
(Clooney and his "ER" castmates also didn't have deal with cameras on phones and social media spreading news about their whereabouts during the beginning of the show's run. "Empire" does. There were no Twitter accounts revealing ahead of time where and when "ER" was filming in the city like there is now, including @filming_chicago and *cough* @TribLuis.)
Given the show's monster success, you can't help but wonder if egos and jealousy will begin to develop among cast members and interfere with the script. These sort of things happen on a show with a large cast competing for screen time, but it is avoidable.
"That was the beauty of the original six," Chulack said, referring to "ER's" original cast. "Everybody had egos, but they never got out of line. George and (Anthony) were the ringleaders. Everyone policed themselves and were very good at keeping each other in check. They knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Season 2 of "Empire" is scheduled to premiere Sept. 23.
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