The Business

'Empire's' Danny Strong on Writing Outside His Comfort Zone

When Danny Strong first pitched the idea for Empire, he got the green light right away. But then he actually had to write the show, set in a world he knew little about. He shares how he took the musical soap opera mega-hit from a blank computer screen to the TV screen.

By Kim Masters • Mar 21, 2015 • 29m Listen

Actor, writer and producer Danny Strong is the co-creator of the juggernaut hit Empire, which continued to grow in viewership numbers all the way through to its recent first season finale. Strong tells us about a versatile career that has seen him go from appearing on Buffy the Vampire Slayer to writing the award-winning HBO films Recount and Game Change, to creating a TV melodrama that's broken ratings records.

Photo: Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon and Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon on Empire, courtesy of Fox

Kim Masters
partner/writer at Puck News, host of KCRW's “The Business.”
Matthew Belloni
founding partner of Puck News
Kaitlin Parker
Producer, 'The Business' and 'Hollywood Breakdown'

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'Empire's' Danny Strong on Writing Outside His Comfort Zone

When Danny Strong first pitched the idea for Empire, he got the green light right away. But then he actually had to write the show, set in a world he knew little about. He shares how he took the musical soap opera mega-hit from a blank computer screen to the TV screen.

Share

The Business

'Empire's' Danny Strong on Writing Outside His Comfort Zone

When Danny Strong first pitched the idea for Empire, he got the green light right away. But then he actually had to write the show, set in a world he knew little about. He shares how he took the musical soap opera mega-hit from a blank computer screen to the TV screen.

Share