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To make a point about the justice system, Cookie Lyon dressed in a gorilla costume and hovered above the rapt crowd in a cage. You would think that would be the most deliciously absurd moment of a deliciously absurd series, you would be wrong. What was absurd was casting the talented Chris Rock as a terrifying drug kingpin, Frank Gathers, who winds up in the hoosegow.

I don’t know how many times folks have to be told not to let Empire’s Cookie get her hands on a rose. Drama always ensues. Next time, try orchids.

  Yes, lawd! Empire returns tonight with the second half of its third season. Back in December, the midseason finale ended with a bang—and for once it didn’t involve Lucious shooting someone or him getting shot. Still, Lucious tried to kill Angelo Dubois’ mayoral career—or at least leave a nasty scar. The Lyons’ eldest son,…

Lots of shows aren’t filmed in the city in which they are set. Vancouver and Georgia are popular substitutes. It may not always be convincing, but Empire, which films in Chicago, may be the most egregious when it comes to not even trying to look like it’s in New York, but that’s not the only giveaway. In the latest episode, “True Love Never,” there were four glaring moments that made me wonder if the crew has ever stepped foot in Gotham.

Why is Anika so insistent about partnering with Cookie? Anika has a lot of experience, she could probably do better than the start-up Lyon Dynasty label. She keeps crawling back for more pain.

Watching the Thriller video. The long version runs a little over 13 minutes. The greatest music video of all time runs longer than Hakeem’s kidnapping and the zombies were more interesting.