The second season of American musical drama "Empire" left its viewers with intense excitement and a lot of burning questions, among them the future of the TV series' central couple, Lucious and Cookie Lyon, played by Terrence Howard and Taraji Henson, respectively.
It can be recalled that Lucious, the show's primary character, was forced to marry one of the female villains, Anika, by the end of the second season of "Empire" to prevent her from testifying against his family.
Cookie, Lucious' ex-wife who he obviously still has feelings for, is apparently not happy with this marriage. In a recent interview with TV Line, "Empire" executive producer Ilene Chaiken shared that this Cookie's decision to walk away from Lucious at the end of Season 2 will greatly affect the turnout of events in the next season.
"The family is together, the company is together, and Lucious and Cookie will be in one another's faces and lives," Chaiken said in the interview, "but her [being finished with Lucious] is going to color everything."
The "Empire" executive producer further said that the next season will ultimately deal with the Lyons as a family.
"What we're setting up is a battle of dark vs. light. Who are the Lyons and how will they continue to define themselves going forward? Can they ever change? Is Lucious the dark lord, pulling them all in the other direction?" Chaiken added.
In a related news, The Chicago Tribune reported last week that "Empire" cast members have already returned to Chicago to start filing the thirds season of the hit show.
Lead actor Howard tweeted a photo of himself inside a car with the caption: "Back in Chi-Town..Mourning the loss of life and the lack of peace humanity once enjoyed. My heart weeps for Turkey. "
"Empire" is set to return for its third season on September 21.
