Quick Season 1 recap: Aspiring music and pop culture superstar Star Davis (Jude Demorest) -- the character for which the show is named -- had reached the end of her self-respect arc by finally striking back at her abusive boyfriend Hunter after keeping his wrong-doings a secret for way too long. Her younger sister and girl group-mate Simone (Brittany O’Grady) reached the end of her self-destruction arc, one that started benignly enough with smoking weed, and ended with her in and out of the hospital, the psych ward and eventually state custody. Alexandra (Ryan Destiny), the other girl in the group, found out she was unexpectedly pregnant, marking the end of what I lovingly refer to as her "ex-rich boujee bitch to future baby mama" arc. Alexandra's activist boyfriend and baby daddy Derek (Quincy Brown) ended up in a wheelchair, permanently. Meanwhile, Cotton (Amiyah Scott) ended up in jail for stealing $20k for a sex change. Oh, and did I mention that people keep getting murdered? Sure, they’re objectively bad people, but someone’s got to go to jail for that, right? I mean, one of the bodies belongs to Hunter -- Star’s abusive now-ex-boyfriend -- so I can’t imagine things look too good for her legally. (Ryan Destiny, Jude Demorest and Brittany O'Grady are pictured below, left to right.)
In regards to Season 2 (premiering tonight at 9 p.m. right after Empire) things pick up about five months later and, needless to say, there have been some developments. I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that the show opens (appropriately) on series creator Lee Daniels, the godfather of television musical drama, sitting in the director’s chair calling “action.” Comedian/actor Mike Epps guest stars in this episode, which is hilariously referenced by Queen Latifah’s character Carlotta calling him “some dude that looks like Mike Epps.” There are also cameos by Empire fave Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett, pictured below center with Latifah) and Cookie’s sister Carol (Tasha Smith). And the end of the episode? Well, let’s just say I was mad the next episode wasn’t yet available to preview. The final shot is crazy.
Star, much like the women the show is centered on, is still fighting its way to the top of its game, and if I do say so myself, its progress has been duly noted. At the Empire and Star season premiere event Saturday in New York City Empire was repeatedly referred to as Fox’s flagship program, and that makes Star’s obvious position as its immediate second a damned good (and well-earned) place to be.
The success of this show -- as I mentioned in both my first and