‘Empire’ Boss Reveals ‘Strong’ Star Jussie Smollett Is ‘Happy to Be Back’ Working

Jussie Smollett is “happy” to be back at work on the Empire set following the attack on him last week.

Speaking to Deadline ahead of Fox’s Television Critics Association winter press tour, where they appeared on the “Voices of Drama” panel on Wednesday, Empire executive producers Brett Mahoney and Danny Strong confirmed news that the actor had returned to work.

Smollett made his return to the FOX Studios set on Monday to film the final scenes of the season and to complete a cast table read on Tuesday. His return to work came less than a week following his attack.

“He’s been back at work since Monday — he wanted to get back to work and he just wanted to get things back to normal,” Mahoney told the outlet. “He’s the heart of the show in many ways and everyone welcomed him back. We let him know we’re all family, we’re all supporting him and we all have his back. I think that helped him ease back to getting back to work.”

Smollett, who portrays the openly gay character Jamal Lyon on the FOX series and came out as gay himself in 2015, was the victim of a possible hate crime on Jan. 29 in Chicago, leaving him bruised.

“Jussie is a proud, gay black man, and I’m not sure if the cowards were trying to beat the pride, gay or black out of him but he’s strong and we’re happy he’s back at work,” Mahoney said onstage during FOX’s presentation.

“He’s truly a very special person, which is how he got cast as Jamal, because we needed someone truly special to play that part, and it was him,” Strong added. “So I’m not surprised at all by the class and the poise of his response to what has happened.”

Smollett’s return to set was aided by a number of measures to protect him, as well as the other members of the cast and crew, from any further attacks. After news of the attack broke, FOX reportedly ordered heightened security around production locations, including the presence of armed guards and occasional sweeps of the area.

FOX also hired a private security company to screen mail sent to the cast and crew of Empire in an attempt to identify any potentially dangerous mail and prevent it from reaching those working on the series. The team is reportedly working in a joint effort with the FBI, who helped them set up a protocol for screening the mail, after a threatening letter was sent to FOX Studios for Smollett in the days prior to the Jan. 29 attack.

“We’re really concerned about security for the cast and the crew. That’s the priority,” Strong said. “We’re just worried about him right now.”

Assisted by the FBI and others, the Chicago Police Department is still investigating the crime.