FOX’s prime-time sudser, EMPIRE, is taking a two to three-week hiatus in order for the writers to regroup for the season’s back nine episodes of its current 18-episode season, reports deadline.com. The series has taken similar production breaks for script work in past seasons. The breaks begins today, after the completion of filming episode 409, with production on episode 410 beginning post-hiatus. It will not affect the EMPIRE’s broadcast schedule. The series will air its mid-season finale in December and return to the schedule in March 2018.