SERIES PREMIERE: Empire creator Lee Daniels, who made hip-hop a red-hot TV world, also is a big fan of musicals in general and Dreamgirls in particular. So when he captured the brass ring with the music-obsessed Empire, and Fox asked what he’d like to do next, Daniels came up with Star, the story of three young female singers who join forces to break into the music biz in hopes of becoming sexy, sassy pop stars. It starts as heavily weighted as a fairy tale, with Star (Jude Demorest) escaping from the clutches of her cruel foster mother, rescuing her half sister Simone (Brittany O’Grady) and taking her to Atlanta, where Star has been trading song snippets and vocal tapes with Alexandra (Ryan Destiny), a talented runaway with a secret. Alexandra’s secret is that she’s wealthy, and the daughter of a famous music star, played by Lenny Kravitz. Star and Simone, meanwhile, meet and seek help from their godmother Carlotta, played by Queen Latifah, who knows some somewhat connected music folks, including a somewhat scurrilous manager played by Benjamin Bratt. These characters all get their chance to strut and shine, as does Amiyah Scott, playing Carlotta’s transgender daughter, who was born male. There’s lots of infighting and jealousy and rebellion, within as well as around the female trio, and while the setup may seem as old as Gemini’s Twin (the ever-changing girl trio from Saturday Night Live), or, even older and more obscure, as a modern take on the 1970s girl-trio drama and music of Rock Follies. At the end, the three young ladies sing from the balcony at a private party, and impress everyone there. And watching at home. For full reviews, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes and David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.