The Empire is an Indian period drama streaming television series created by Nikkhil Advani and directed by Mitakshara Kumar based on the novel series Empire of the Moghul by Alex Rutherford for Disney+ Hotstar. The series was premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 27 August 2021. The first season of the series opened to generally favourable reviews with praise for the show's visuals, sets, costumes and the performance of the main cast, with a positive consensus on Shabana Azmi's portrayal of Ësan Dawlat and criticism for poor VFX in a few scenes.