The tight-lipped cast of the hit series "Empire" had previously refused to tell the drama that will unfold in the upcoming second season. However, they were quite revealing when discussing the secrets of the show, before its launch earlier last year came about. Last Saturday, the top-rated Fox show had its season two opener premiered at the Carnegie Hall in New York City. Creator Lee Daniels, Terrence Howard, Emmy nominee Taraji P. Henson, and more from the popular television series were there for the occasion. Mesfin Fekadu of AP wrote about the premiere's highlights.
The producer of the show and cast, including Gabourey Sidibe and Jussie Smollett, had a grand time sitting for the powerful and fun-filled Q & A portion after the airing of the episode that evening.
The cast, together with Henson and Daniels, expressed and spoke lengthily on how they were surprised that "Empire" became a hit on prime-time television. In the first season, starring Howard as Lucious Lyon, a drug dealer who became a rapper then later on as a record label owner, saw the growth of its ratings for every episode. The finale drew 17 million viewers.
Henson, who earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Cookie Lyon, said ""I honestly thought, 'This would be great. We will put this incredible work in the can and Fox would choke and put it on cable. . "And I get the call that the show is picked up. I was like, 'What! Are they crazy?'"
"You want to do the work that's going to challenge people to think and ruffle feathers and get people upset and spark intelligent conversations so that change can happen," she added.
Henson likewise described " Empire " as more than just a television series .She called her and Howard's character in the show , being former drug dealers, ""heroes in a very American way."
Henson earned the audience's applause when she said "'Cause you can judge (Cookie), you can say whatever you want about her, about Lucious, about what they did to get where they are, but at the end of the day, their sons are not statistics. OK. Their sons are not in jail ... they broke a cycle of poverty and anybody that's from the hood knows that that is very hard to do."
The show's producer, Daniels, who also was behind "Monster's Ball" and "The Butler," thanked , Dana Walden and Gary Newman, the chairman - CEO's of Fox Television Group, for their support with " Empire. "
Other secrets related to the show were:
- Smollett, who portrays an openly gay singer and succeeded his father to run Empire Entertainment, auditioned for his role, Jamal, by singing Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" a cappella.
- The script originally called for a "boyish, petite white woman "for Sidibe's character, Becky, but was advised by Daniels that she can ignore the physical requirements if Sidibe likes the script.
- Ta'Rhonda Jones, who plays the role of Henson's assistant Porsha, said she thought it was a rap gig, when she auditioned for the show.
The second season of "Empire" will premiere on Sept. 23 on Fox.
