25 of the best family feuds on TV

Cookie Lyon and Anika Calhoun — Empire

Cookie Lyon is a force to be reckoned with on all fronts, but especially when you come for her family. Anika posed a threat not only to her livelihood in the music industry, but also to her family. Anika started out as a romantic rival to Cookie as Lucious’ new love interest, but quickly turned into Cookie’s main antagonist. That is, if you can call Cookie a protagonist.

Things quickly took a turn for the soapy when Anika moved from the patriarch of the Lyon family to the sons. Cookie would not have this nonsense, and she and Anika came to blows on more than one occasion. Never one to pull punches, Cookie not only dubbed Anika “Boo Boo Kitty,” but also never missed and opportunity to mock her or call her out on shenanigans.

When Anika turned up pregnant, carrying Cookie’s grandson, tensions only heightened. As the alpha female, Cookie views Anika as a usurper, and Cookie will stop at nothing to protect what she thinks is rightfully hers. It does the altercation a disservice to call it a “cat-fight” as both women are strong, capable, and equally as scheming and and dishonest.

No matter whose side you’re on (and you’re probably on Cookie’s) you have to admit the feud between these women makes for excellent TV. It has to potential to mined for countless hours of backstabbing, creative insults, and incest-adjacent drama.