We knew this day would come, but we didn't expect it to be so soon!

Fox has confirmed Empire will officially conclude with its upcoming sixth season.

The news comes as a surprise given that it is still a reliable performer in the ratings, but the show likely comes with a heavy price tag given the star names in the likes of Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard.

Cookie Wants to Win - Empire Season 5 Episode 2

Fox CEO Charlie Collier revealed the decision to end the drama for good during a conference call with reporters.

“We’re turning the final season of Empire into a large television event,” Collier said.

“We are going out guns-a-blazing. Six years is a pretty remarkable run for a drama series.”

The show's future was cast into doubt earlier this year when actor Jussie Smollett alleged that he was attacked in Chicago in the dead of night by two white males.

Cookie in Danger - Empire Season 5 Episode 7

What followed was a lot of back and forth, with Smollett maintaining his innocence, despite being charged with falsifying a police report.

The charges were subsequently dropped. Still, Jussie was ousted from the final two episodes of Empire Season 5, with his character going off on his honeymoon.

However, there's word that Jussie could return during Season 6 after the decision to extend his contract.

Empire Season 5 concluded last week, with a wild finale that left the marriage of Cookie and Lucious on the brink of destruction.

Going at it - Empire Season 5 Episode 12

Empire Season 5 averaged 4.5 million total viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 in live + same day ratings. It was down over 25 percent year-to-year.

Still, it was Fox's second highest-rated drama.

The show's demise comes just days after Fox canceled sister series, Star, which was also a reliable performer in the ratings.

It's unclear whether the Jussie Smollett scandal played any part in the decision to end the franchise.