Another Empire?
Star and Empire, Lee Daniels' musical soaps, share plenty of DNA. But while Empire is a slick look at the big problems that come with big success in the music industry, the creator's newest series, which has technically already debuted with a preview airing in December -- but will move to its regular Wednesdays at 9pm timeslot (a.k.a. the Empire hour) on January 4 -- is a grittier look at how one makes it to the top.
While both series feature regular musical numbers (Empire's are usually in-context performances, but Star goes the traditional musical route - any time, anywhere), Empire is full of glitz and glamour and the many furs of Cookie Lyon, and Star is full of three wannabe R&B star teenage girls who aspire to one day have a wardrobe worthy of Cookie Lyon.
The problem here is that Empire's heightened reality lends itself well to gasp-worthy plot twists you'd expect in any soap, but Star's much more grounded tone makes Daniels' trademark drama seem totally out of place. The number of plot points stuffed into the 42 minutes of the pilot alone could've sustained the entirety of a streaming series. On the bright side, the constant barrage of drama means that by the time there's a full-on choreographed number at a strip club (to tempt Benjamin Bratt's once-successful music producer into working with our scrappy little girl group, or something), you're kind of used to it.
The titular character, Star (Jude Demorest) is a wise-beyond-her years teenager who grew up in the foster system, separated from her younger sister, Simone (Brittany O'Grady) after their mother died of a drug overdose when they were young. In the premiere, Star goes to break Simone out of her miserable foster home, killing Simone's abusive foster father in the process (or so she thinks). They flee to the Atlanta home of their godmother, Carlotta (Queen Latifah), and meet up with Alex (Ryan Destiny), a wealthy teen and fellow aspiring superstar.
The three girls plan to recruit Bratt's character to help them make their budding girl group a success. What they don't know is that while Carlotta and the girls' mother were friends, they were also in a group and working with Bratt's slimy manager when their mom OD'd. And Alex is not just rich, she's the daughter of a rock star (played by Lenny Kravitz) and a model (played by Naomi Campbell) who don't approve of her career choice.
Also standing in their way is that Simone is very clearly traumatized by her years of sexual assault, and has turned to drugs like her mother once did. Carlotta quickly sees the signs, but can she help her friend's troubled daughter before it's too late?
One welcome trademark of a Lee Daniels show is spotlighting social issues amid the drama. However clumsily handled, that's always a plus. In Star's first three episodes we see assault, attempted murder, PTSD, and a trans hate crime on Carlotta's daughter Cotton (Amiyah Brown). We also see the struggle that the deeply religious Carlotta is facing as she works on accepting the fact that she has a trans daughter. While many portrayals of trans people focus on the trans person's self-acceptance, Cotton has no such issues. She knows exactly who she is, but her mother needs to face that fact.
Star's songs and musical numbers are catchy and fun, much like Empire's, but the slick production is jarring against the backdrop of the rest of the show. If you want a substitute musical drama in your life until Empire returns, Star can certainly fill that void. But whether it can stand on its own is another question.
The Verdict
There's a LOT going on here, but if the grounded tone and soapy tendencies can finally gel, Star could eventually be a worthy Empire successor. As it stands, however, this is only for the Lee Daniels devotees who can get past the too-packed episodes.
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