What’s Worth Watching: ‘Empire’ on Fox for Wednesday, November 18

Empire, “My Bad Parts” (Wednesday, Nov. 18, 9/8c, Fox)

Gotta love a prime-time family-dynasty soap as warped as Empire. When Prima Diva Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) is caught cheating, it’s with her son. Before you go all “ewww,” we’re talking recording-studio cheating, a musical form of incest where Jamal (Jussie Smollett) only wants Cookie’s ear to make his music better, even if it means crossing over to the competing label for some covert practice sessions.

The family rivalry between Lucious’s (Terrence Howard) expanding Empire and Cookie’s upstart Lyon Dynasty intensifies when Lucious promotes Freda (Bre-Z Murray) as rap’s newest superstar, wounding the ever-fragile ego of Hakeem (Bryshere “Yazz” Gray). His response: challenging Freda to a rap battle royal, which if he loses could cost Cookie dearly. But she’s got even more distractions, with the arrival of her spirited sister, Candace (Vivica A. Fox)—a character who has already ignited spinoff rumors. Because if you think Cookie’s a handful, just wait till we meet the rest of her family.