Fox Has an ‘Empire’ Spinoff Starring Taraji P. Henson in Development
Written by SOURCE on July 23, 2020
Fox will continue to invest in the extension of the Empire televisionary universe, as Thursday brought word that a spinoff starring Taraji P. Henson is officially on the network’s agenda.
Henson will again take on the role of Cookie Lyon for the series, which the Hollywood Reporter‘s Lesley Goldberg said Thursday is now in development. Showrunner duties will be handled by Empire co-creator Danny Strong, as well as Yolanda Lawrence and Stacy Littlejohn. All three are also confirmed as writers for the Empire-expanding story, the results of which will count Henson’s new company TPH Entertainment among its roster of producers.
No official info regarding the plot of the untitled project have been announced. Thursday’s report, however, cited sources who described the story as focusing on Cookie’s move to Los Angeles, with the possibility of other familiar characters also popping up along the way.
In a statement accompanying Thursday’s announcement, Henson pointed to the importance of “normalizing stories around stigmatizing matters” and spoke on the goals she has for TPH Entertainment and her two-year first-look deal with 20th Century Fox TV.
“Art can change perception and I plan to develop projects that can help further the conversation,” Henson said. “I also aim to help cultivate and establish new young talent and their stories because they are our future and deserve a voice and a platform to be heard.”
Empire kicked off in 2015 and premiered its sixth and final season last September, ultimately airing its last episode in April. That same month, Henson appeared in the Netflix comedy Coffee & Kareem alongside Ed Helms, David Alan Grier, and Betty Gilpin.
