Empire strikes back
After a roaring success in Season One, the Lyons are ready for another explosive round.
EMPIRE might have been a late entry to the television scene in the 2014/ 15 line- up, but with its explosive storyline, girl- on- girl catfight, bro brawl, backstabbing business deals, dysfunctional family saga as well as music courtesy of Timbaland, it ended up becoming one of the mostwatched, not to mention most- talked about, shows of the year.
Created by Oscar- nominated director Lee Daniels and his writing partner Danny Strong, Empire tells the story of a rapper- turned- business- mogul, Lucious Lyon ( Terrence Howard), and his struggle to find a suitable heir to his music empire. Which of his three sons should be given that responsibility? Should it be the business- savvy Andre, the talented Jamal or the spoilt brat Hakeem? To complicate matters, Lucious has been diagnosed with ALS and his outspoken ex- wife Cookie is out of prison and wants a share of the company she helped fund.
With only a limited 12 episodes in the first season, Empire managed to win TV audiences over. The show was constantly No. 1 in its time slot in the United States and averaged 14.5 million viewers.
“I don’t think anyone could have predicted this level of success for the show,” said Fox Television Studios chairman and CEO in an interview with Entertainment Weekly,
So, the pressure is on for the writers and cast of Empire to up the ante for the sophomore season. Challenge accepted. “Season Two is going to have more drama. There’s going to be more fights. More twists and turns that you’re not going to expect. I get surprised every week on table read day, finding out what’s going to happen. It’s great,” Bryshere Y. Gray, who plays rapper and the youngest Lyon, Hakeem, told Star2 in an interview in Chicago.
According to Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson, viewers are going to get to know her character, Cookie Lyon, a whole lot better as well.
“We set up the first season with Cookie and Jamal ( Jussie Smollet) riding off into the sunset. And now it challenges all of our relationships as a family. As we peel back the layers of each character, we are finding out more of how these people have become who they are,” said Henson.
There will be flashbacks to Cookie’s years in prison, Henson offered. “I’m interested in the 17 years Cookie was locked up like an animal in a cage. What did that do to her? How was she able to keep it together and not break, not let that system break her?” said the actress, who insisted on revisiting Cookie’s past.
“We really went there, the madness of it all, being in a cage. How did she come out of there, get it together and pull her family back together and become a citizen that’s contributing to society. What drove her, what kept her alive in those walls. I’m interested in knowing that.”
With a sassy attitude and in- your- face outfits, Henson’s Cookie quickly became one of TV’s most colourful and beloved characters. It also catapulted the actress to a new level of stardom. Prior to Empire, Henson’s role in the TV procedural Person Of Interest was as interesting as Cookie’s orange prison jumpsuit.
When playing a character that’s larger than life like Cookie, Henson says she has to toe the line. “My main concern with Cookie is she jumps out at you from the pages of the script. So, I’m constantly trying to find the balance with that. Her tongue is sharp, but it all has to come from a place of reality, otherwise she becomes a caricature and a big loud per-
son no one cares about.”
Season Two will also explore Cookie’s relationships with her two other sons - Andre ( Trai Byers) and Hakeem.
“What you saw in the first season was Team Cookie and Jamal, but she has three sons. So I thought it was very important that we show those uniquely different relationships.
“You’re definitely going to see a budding relationship between Cookie and Hakeem, that ingrate she started off beating with the broom. And also some very tender moments with her older son and his depression,” said Henson, who turned 45 on Sept 11.
For breakout star Smollett, part of the fun in shooting Empire is the chance to sing all the great songs featured on the show.
“There’s so much music this season. I thought we had a lot of music last season, but it is overwhelming this time around. I am constantly in the studio recording,” offered Smollett, 32.
Rapper and producer Timbaland and his music partner Jim Beanz are responsible for the original music on the show. Like another successful Fox show, Glee, Empire too has its music released on an album. The Empire Soundtrack, released in March, made its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart ( blocking Madonna’s Rebel Heart to reach the top).
Apart from cast members Smollett, Gray ( or Yazz as he is known in the music world) and Serayah ( who plays Tiana), the album also featured hitmakers like Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Rita Ora, Estelle, Courtney Love and Juicy J.
It won’t just be the Lyons hogging screen time on Empire come Season Two. One character which will be given more prominence is Becky ( Gabourey Sidibe), who rose from serving tea in the pilot epi- sode as Lucious’s assistant to being Empire’s head of Artistes And Repertoire in the finale.
“Becky’s loyalty is, first and foremost, to Empire and keeping Lucious’s baby afloat. As the head of A& R, she’s doing what she can to keep his dream alive,” said Sidibe, 32, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2009’ s Precious.
Viewers will get to see a different side of Becky in the episodes to come. “You’ll get to see more of what she’s like when she’s off work. You’ll get to see how smart and serious she is, and how calculating she may be. Becky very much knows her position here, that she isn’t a family member and this isn’t her birthright. She’s not the heir to any throne. And this is a stepping- stone to what she wants to do. She wants to be Lucious one day, she doesn’t want to take over from Lucious but she wants to be him.”
And while she won’t be singing, Sidibe says the music set for the upcoming season is “amazing”.
“In fact, one of my favourite things to do is to ride around with Jussie Smollet and listen to all the songs. I go to the studio with him a lot, and when the songs are mixed, we drive around and listen to them,” she said.
Smollett best sums up the upcoming season of Empire in musical terms. “We are even hungrier in Season Two. Season One was like when Michael Jackson did Off The Wall, and now Season Two is our Thriller. This has to be good, because people will be waiting and watching. So you have to make sure Season Two is better.”
He’s right ... we are waiting with bated breath and will be watching closely! ( Additional reporting by Gordon Kho)