‘Empire’ Season 2 Casting News: Marisa Tomei, Kelly Rowland, And Chris Rock Joining The Cast, Is Oprah Next?
The first season of Empire proved to be a huge success for the drama, which managed to become the most watched series on television. A part of that success was due to the fact that the series featured a number of guest star appearances throughout Season 1. With that in mind, which celebrities and signers will be making a cameo as the series heads into Season 2?
According to Time, Season 2 of Empire will feature guest star appearances by Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), Chris Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Keys, Common, and Oprah.
While it is known that Rowland will play Terrance Howard’s mother in a flashback and Tomei will be introduced as Mimi Whiteman – an ultra-rich woman who gets involved with the Lyon family – the roles of the other guest stars have not been revealed. The only details we know so far is that Rock will be portraying someone in a flashback, Kravitz and Keys will likely have a singing related cameo, and Common will probably play a larger role in the season as the singer/actor has been building up his acting resume for some time now.
At the same time, the addition of Oprah is certainly going to be popular amongst the show’s viewers. Although little is known about her role in the series, Lee Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter that the mega-star wasn’t easy to get for the show.
“I tell him: ‘Lee, it’s not enough that you’ve taken every viewer possible on Wednesday night. Now you want me to leave my own network?'” Oprah stated in the interview.
In addition to the new star power that is expected to be included in Season 2, the show will also expand on Lucious Lyon’s storyline as he was last seen locked away in a jail cell. “This second season, we’re going to find out what turned Lucious into who he is, and he’s going to clean up some messes that were left in the last episode,” Terrance Howard, who plays Lucious, recently told ET Online.
Meanwhile, with filming for the new season already underway, Daniels posted a video on Instagram of Taraji P. Henson on the first day back on-set. When Daniels asked Henson how she feels, the actress replied that she was “sleepy” and felt like “sh*t.”
Henson’s response concerning her first day back comes after she was sent to the hospital due to exhaustion in promoting the show.
Season 2 of Empire is set to premiere September 23, 2015.
[Image Courtesy: FOX]
