Empire, which dethroned The Big Bang Theory as the most popular series on network television in its first season, returns to Fox this fall with a whole lot of expectations riding on it. Empire became so big, it took over television ratings and then drip dropped its way into the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. The supersized second season promises guest appearances from Oprah, Common, Chris Rock, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Lenny Kravitz—maybe even Mariah Carey. Gabourey Sidibe and Ta’Rhonda Jones have been promoted from guest assistants to regular assistants. Marisa Tomei is set to play a lesbian billionaire, the best character description of 2015 so far. Season two of Empire is about to pull out all the stops, and there’s now a trailer to get us excited about more explosive Lyon drama.
“It’s not business; it’s personal,” the trailer declares, which could easily be the official slogan of Empire Entertainment. Lucious is preoccupied with prison, but the family war is alive and well. Andre’s looking vengeful but otherwise stable. Hakeem and Jamal are back to their album squabbles. Boo Boo Kitty looks pissed about everything happening around her. Cookie doesn’t throw any shoes, but throws plenty of daggers with her eyes—all while wearing a fabulous patch denim jacket. Lesbian Billionaire appears for a brief moment to say Empire is nothing without Lucious Lyon. His family seems to disagree.
The season two premiere drip drops on Wednesday, September 23 at 9 PM.