‘Empire’ Season 1 2-Hour Finale: Super-Sized Episode begins At 8 pm, Soundtrack Tops Billboard 200

Now that the ending is just around the corner, “Empire” fans have to take note that the show’s epic Season 1 finale is set to begin at 8 pm on Wednesday, March 18 and ends at 10 pm. Featuring two episodes, “Die But Once” and “Who I Am,” in one night, “Empire” Season 1 finale is set to feature a host of guest stars including Snoop Dogg, Rita Ora, Juicy J, Patti LaBelle and Jennifer Hudson.

“It was crazy cool because, before the show premiered, we had shot nine or 10 episodes and getting in guest stars was not so easy,” co-creator and executive producer Danny Strong during a telephone conference when asked about the wave of guest stars in the last episode. "I mean, we were getting passed on all over the place, all the time."

But after the show premiered in high rating hits, people who said no for a TV guesting are already calling to be on the show. Thanks to its growing popularity that averages to 15.2 million viewers per episode, “Empire” managed to break a lot of rules of television and maintained its No. 1 spot on the Big 4 networks for weeks.

“Empire,” which was renewed for a second season after its second episode, is now the leading show on TV and its soundtrack is the No. 1 album in the country. The musical show debuts in the top of the Billboard 200 this week, the only TV soundtrack that reached No. 1 after “Glee” collection hit the top spot in 2010.

“Empire’s” original soundtrack from Season 1 kept Madonna for claiming the No. 1 debut for the first time since 1998 as the show’s ratings grew in each week. The latest high was last week’s episode, “Sins of the Father,” ahead of its two hour season finale on Wednesday.

The last two episodes will be directed by Debbie Allen and Mario Van Peebles. The two-hour finale is set to feature Jamal (Jussie Smollet) and Lucious (Terence Howard) forming a music-centered relationship. “Empire” Season 1 finale will not be complete without Lucious’ secret that will completely change the game.

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