The 15 million people that tune in to the FOX breakout hit, “Empire,” watched last week as the eldest Lyon son, Andre, entered rehab after an intense psychotic break.
We watched as his behavior became more and more erratic by the episode, leading to his family calling for paramedics to put him on a psychiatric hold. As they shot Andre up with a sedative and rolled him away on a stretcher in public, this scene became one of the hardest to watch of the series so far.  
For many of those 15 million viewers, scenes of Andre grappling with his bipolar disorder are foreign, but for many like myself, those scenes are almost too familiar for comfort.
Mental illness has touched my life in the form of my mom being diagnosed with clinical depression. Every week I watch the Lyons struggle to support Andre, just like I’ve watched my own family members unable to understand my mother’s situation.
As an immigrant from Ethiopia, my mother came to this country hoping for opportunities she would not have back home. However, her dream was halted when opportunities were scarce and culture shock filled the void.
Mental illness is not a topic often discussed in the Ethiopian community, similar to many other peoples of color. Instead of psychiatrists, you send the mentally ill to church to get baptized or to be touched by Holy Water. Those that are affected suffer alone, left to carry the weight of both their illness and its stigma.
Another arena of our culture where mental illness is normally ignored? Television.
Few mainstream shows have shed light on mental illness through a central character in recent years in general, let alone through a character of color. This is where “Empire” comes in.
One of the things I appreciate most about watching Andre’s journey is seeing the different ways in which his family responds to his episodes.
Rhonda, Andre’s wife, is constantly by his side urging him to take his medication. There are his two brothers that set aside their differences to console him. His mother, Cookie, initially calls bipolar disorder “a white people’s disease,” but is still there for her son after his breakdown.
And lastly there’s Lucious, Andre’s dad, the king of the empire, who refuses to acknowledge his son’s condition. Instead, Lucious uses the bipolar disorder against Andre and his chances of taking over the company as CEO.
All of these scenarios are perfectly realistic. There will always be a dichotomy between family members and friends that stand by their loved ones with mental illness and those that avoid or ignore it. We’re able to clearly see on screen the dos and don’ts of how to respond to someone you know being diagnosed with a mental illness.
Seeing that Andre is a Wharton grad with a vital position as Empire’s CFO is another significant aspect of his character. He may work at daddy’s company, but that doesn’t mean anything as difficult as it is to impress Lucious Lyon. Andre’s hard work and drive shine despite his bipolar disorder and that is important for people to see.
Yes, mental illness can be debilitating, but it doesn’t have to be the end all, be all.
As soon as we realized that Andre had bipolar disorder, I was hesitant about how his storyline would be handled. Knowing that characters dealing with mental health issues on primetime television are rare, especially for a character of color, I wasn’t sure how true to reality Andre’s story would be.
I was almost expecting the worst: for this storyline to be carried out in a lazy fashion, simply as a filler story, or for his story to cover all of the stereotypes without seeming genuine. As far as I’m concerned, however, “Empire” is doing the best it can with Andre’s storyline.
Even my mom, who still struggles with her illness, told me she identifies with Andre. She rarely watches scripted television, but watched last week’s episode and saw herself in Andre as he dealt with an illness that affects him, but doesn’t define him.
While I’m pleased so far, I’m not going to get too comfortable. I’ll be keeping a close eye on “Empire” to see what they’ll be doing with Andre’s journey next.
Regardless of the show’s next move, I hope that “Empire” can continue to spark a responsible dialogue about mental health in minority communities.
Tune in to the two-hour season finale of “Empire” on Wednesday at 9p/8c on FOX.

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Chuck Hodes/Fox

Andre Lyon and his wife, Rhonda.