Life ‘Empire’ co-creator Lee Daniels says Jussie Smollett will not return for final season June 5, 2019June 5, 2019 Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY Comments Off on ‘Empire’ co-creator Lee Daniels says Jussie Smollett will not return for final season "Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels took to Twitter Tuesday to counter a Variety report that speculated Jussie Smollett would return for the final season.