If you’re like us who were tuned into FOX on Wednesday for the premiere of their new freshman series ‘Empire‘ you instantly fell in love and were left wanting more at the conclusion of the show, and if ratings continue to reign in the way they did on premiere night the show has a prosperous road ahead. The series brought in massive numbers equal to that of its counterparts ‘Scandal’, ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ and more.

The Lee Daniels orchestrated drama which stars Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard was watched live by a whopping 9.9 million viewers! That marks the network’s highest-rated series launch in three years according to TVLine.com and ties broadcast TV’s No. 1 debut of the season with ABC’s ‘How to Get Away With Murder’. The show even almost beat out the  ‘American Idol ‘season 14 premiere which opened Fox’s night with 11.2 million viewers.

Congrats to the stellar cast and all involved, we will be watching faithfully!! Check out some cool behind the scenes ‘Inside Empire’ clips below.