The next season of the Fox hip-hop drama “Empire” will be its last, the network revealed in a surprise announcement early Monday morning.

The decision comes just months after Jussie Smollett, one of the show’s stars, was at the center of a national controversy over whether he staged an attack that he had described as a hate crime.

Fox made the announcement as it unveiled its upcoming lineup for the 2019-20 television schedule. “Empire” is heading into its sixth season and has seen declining ratings in recent years, pushing the former hit show out of the top 10 network entertainment series.

Fox executives declined to say if the decision to end “Empire” had anything to do with Smollett’s recent imbroglio.