Star (Seasons 1–3)

Star (2016) is a musical drama from Empire creator Lee Daniels, and you can watch online every episode on iFILM. Star grew up bounced through foster care, then decides to stop waiting for a break. She digs up her sister Simone, grabs her Instagram best friend Alexandra, and the three of them head to Atlanta chasing a record deal.

Three voices, no connections, a pile of debt, and salon owner Carlotta — played by Queen Latifah — who takes them in. From there it's predatory producers, contracts with teeth, jealousy inside the trio, and a stage worth burning everything else down for. Benjamin Bratt and Brandy Norwood lend the story its grown-up gravity.

Daniels runs the Empire playbook rougher and closer to the pavement: the glamour of the industry sits on top of violence, racism, and bodies for sale. The musical numbers are staged for real, less spectacle than the way these women actually speak. For anyone who likes fame-has-a-price dramas and doesn't flinch at heavy material. Stream Star online on iFILM.