'Empire' Not on Tonight, Fox Airing World Series Instead

Empire's final season is taking a backseat to sports this week. Fox will not be airing a new episode of the musical drama series Tuesday to make room for Game 1 of the 2019 World Series. The game will see the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros begin the road toward winning the title. The game will also takeover the 8 p.m. slot on the network, which The Resident currently occupies. While the network plans to air new episodes of both drama series on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the outcome of the World Series could delay new episodes further.

The final season of Empire kicked off with a wild new mystery, as Lucious (Terrence Howard) was shot by one of his many enemies. The flash forward seemed to hint the main character will die before the series comes to an end, though the circumstances of the shooting continue to unfold in subsequent episodes.

The latest flash forward revealed a heartbreaking twist in a cliffhanger moment, which saw as Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) ran out of the Lyon mansion, seemingly after Lucious was shot. She rushes to her car and goes to turn it on but hesitates. At that point the car bursts into flames, seemingly killing her too.

Empire's final season is also the first without actor Jussie Smollett as a series regular. The actor was written out of the final two episodes of Season 5 as as the scandal surrounding his attack in Chicago unfolded in the press. Show producers revealed over the summer there are no plans for the actor to return as Jamal Lyon in Season 6, though his contract was extended to include the final season.

The show explained Jamal's absence in the Season 6 premiere, with Cookie and Becky (Gabourey Sidibe) revealing he moved back to London with his husband Kai (Toby Onwumere) to avoid the Lyon drama going on with Cookie and Lucious' separation, and Lucious running away from the law.

Since then Lucious is no longer a fugitive and is now focused on creative control over the Empire movie. The next episode of the series, titled "Stronger Than My Rival," will see his obsession with the past continue to develop.

The official description for the episode, set to air after the World Series, reads: "Lucious, still obsessed with his past, tries to make amends for his wrongdoings with an old friend. Cookie vies to take control of the house, putting the whole family in the middle. Andre (Trai Byers) and Lucious go head-to-head in a competition to figure out the direction Empire should be heading in. Meanwhile, Becky and Giselle (Nicole Ari Parker) are at odds over the future of Bossy music."

Empire typically airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.