Fox has "temporarily suspended" production on its series Empire and Proven Innocent.
The production pause is due to the extreme cold currently enveloping Chicago, thanks to the Polar Vortex, per a report from E! News. No additional info on production scheduling was made available, except that both shows had been temporarily halted due to local weather.
Chicago broke a record at 21 degrees below zero for the day, not far off from its all-time low of -27 back in 1985. As of Wednesday, USA Todayreports that authorities have linked six deaths to the weather event. In the Chicago suburb of Libertyville, a man was hit and killed by a snow plow.
Security on the Chicago set of Empire was reportedly expanded last week in light of a "threatening homophobic letter" to star Jussie Smollett. Days later, Smollett was allegedly attacked after walking back to his apartment from a nearby Subway restaurant. "The alleged assailants made racially charged comments to the victim implying that they knew he was a star from the show," a police rep told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday.
Many have joined together to condemn the alleged racist and homophobic attack, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime, including Empire's Lee Daniels and 20th Century Fox. "We send our love to Jussie, who is resilient and strong, and we will work with law enforcement to bring these perpetrators to justice," the studio said in a statement. "The entire studio, network. and production stands united in the face of any despicable act of violence and hate—and especially against one of our own."
Previously, it was reported that the Empire shooting schedule would be "reshuffled" due to the attack. Smollett's Feb. 2 show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, however, is currently set to take place as scheduled.
