Another hip-hop TV series in the works, helmed by The Butler‘s Lee Daniels

It might be just coincidence, but there seems to be an unusual amount of rap television shows in development right now.

Apart from Q-Tip’s well publicized Native Tongues series (which is being developed with Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio, no less), ex Community star and sometime rapper Donald Glover is working on a show focusing on Atlanta’s music scene, and Baz Luhrmann is developing a drama series about the birth of hip-hop.

Now there’s another show in development, and titled Empire, it will be directed by Lee Daniels and written by The Butler-writer Danny Strong, and will be produced in some capacity by 24′s Brian Grazer. The show is described as a drama set in the world of a hip-hop empire, so at least seems focused on a different aspect of the rap world from its competitors.

Empire will be Daniels’ first foray into television, and US TV network Fox has ordered a pilot episode of the show, after a heated bidding war. [via Deadline]