Even with the real life drama surrounding the series, it still comes as little surprise that Fox has renewed popular series ‘Empire’ for a sixth season, finally confirming its return to the network this 2019-20 Fall Season. For now the series will do so without Smollett’s character, but him returning down the road doesn’t sound overly farfetched either based on the following quote as reported by Deadline which addresses the situation.: “By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for Season 6, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire,” Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV said in a side statement today.