Lee Daniels deems 'Empire' series his 'worst experience' yet 'worth it'

Lee Daniels described his time working on Empire as "absolutely the worst experience," but the profit from the series made it bearable.

During a recent interview with The Film Stage, the hit Fox series co-creator shared insights about why he opted to make a series and his experience with the venture.

"I don’t like staying in the same lane just as a creative. When I got into television, I really just wanted to be able to answer to suits. I wanted to know what that experience was like," he explained.

"Horrible. Absolutely the worst experience," Daniels replied when asked, "What was it like?"

Despite being labelled as a horrible experience, giving series-making a shot was worth it, per the 64-year-old director.

"Horrible! But guess what? F------ that money, money, money! I was able to put my kids through college and s---," he added. "So that in itself was worth it."

Additionally, Empire was aired for six seasons from 2015 to 2020, starring Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard.

Howard played music mogul Lucious Lyon, while Henson played his onscreen wife, Loretha "Cookie" Lyon, in the music drama.