Cookie's (Taraji P.Henson) hands will be busy when "Empire" returns for season 2, but it does not mean that she will not have enough time for love.
TV Line confirmed that "CSI: Miami" alum Adam Rodriguez was tapped to portray a recurring role in the second season of "Empire," and he will try to capture Cookie's attention. Rodriguez will reportedly portray the role of Laz Delgado, a former EMT from New York. According to the show's producers, Laz is "a smooth-talking concert promoter with expert hustler skills ... who takes an interest in Cookie."
But will Cookie's powerful ex-husband Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) let her have all the fun while he is stuck inside a tiny prison cell, especially since he knows that she and their two sons Andre (Trai Byers) and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Grey) are responsible for putting him in jail in the first place?
Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken told the audience during the show's Emmy FYC panel that jail time will not limit Lucious from doing whatever he wants.
"Lucious can do what he does no matter where he is," the executive producer shared. "Lucious, basically, has tentacles."
So if the magnate managed to nip Cookie's potential romance with Malcolm DeVeaux (Derek Luke) in the bud before it could even bloom in season 1, he can still do that with Laz if he wants to.
But Laz is not the only new character that "Empire" will introduce when the series returns with 18 episodes this fall. There have been reports that Alicia Keys and Chris Rock will portray undisclosed guest starring roles in the high-rating hip hop musical drama series instead of appearing as themselves, and Lenny Kravitz and Ne-yo will also join the cast as guests this season.
Meanwhile, series creator Lee Daniels told The Independent UK that he wants to see musical superstar Diana Ross portray the role of a diva mother on the show next season. He confessed that he is very obsessed with the legendary singer, and would even want her to be his everything as well.
Daniels is also working to get multimedia mogul Oprah Winfrey to appear in the show next season.
"Empire" season 2 will premiere on Sept. 23 on FOX.
