'Empire': How Series Plans to Explain Jussie Smollett's Absence in Final Season

Jussie Smollett's Jamal Lyon will reportedly not be returning from his honeymoon any time soon on [...]

Jussie Smollett's Jamal Lyon will reportedly not be returning from his honeymoon any time soon on Empire. Producers of the Fox drama series revealed earlier this summer that despite the actor's contract being extended for the sixth and final season, there are no plans for him to reprise his fan-favorite role after the scandal that caused him to be written out of the last two episodes of Season 5.

When viewers last saw Jamal he was jetting off on his honeymoon with new husband Kai (Toby Onwumere), not to be seen again after he was unable to take a fly out of their vacation when his brother Andre (Trai Byers) faced a life-threatening medical emergency. And it seems he will be staying away from the family for a lot longer.

Series showrunner Brett Mahoney teased in an interview with TVLine that Jamal will opt to steer clear of the Lyon family drama.

"Jamal is taking a sabbatical from the family," he said. "He doesn't want to be caught up in Lyon family drama, which is very much in keeping with his point of view last season — that [the family business] should be something that the family moves away from."

Rather than staying in their Caribbean vacation forever, Mahoney revealed to the outlet Jamal and Kai plan to "stay in London," where the couple first met.

Speculation on Smollett's status with the show rose after the announcement that Empire would come to an end with the upcoming sixth season. At the time, it was revealed the actor's contract had been extended for a possible return in the second half of the season.

However, co-creator Lee Daniels seemingly shut down all possibilities of the actor returning on Twitter. Fox executives then echoed the sentiment during upfront when they said there were no plans for Smollett's return.

Smollett was indicted in March with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report in which he claimed two men attacked him in an alleged homophobic and racist hate crime in Chicago, where the show films. He pleaded not guilty and was cleared of all charges shortly after. Smollett has maintained his innocence throughout the controversy.

The show made headlines earlier this month when TMZ caught production filming a scene close to where Smollett's attack allegedly took place.

Empire will return for its sixth and final season Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.

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