The Empire Season 2 midseason premiere is March 30. Amid rumors Trai Byers is leaving the show, fans have been itching for Empire season 2 spoilers. Empire Season 2 has been on break since December, but fear not, Fox’s breakout hit will be back very soon. Season 2 has finished filming and Fox has already renewed Empire Season 3.
In the Empire Season 2 finale episode, Skye (Alicia Keys) and Jamal (Jussie Smollet) made a song together and ended up hooking up. Lucious (Terrence Howard) was voted off the board by none other than his own son, Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray). Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) found out her boyfriend, Laz, is part of the crew that jumped Hakeem. Pregnant Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) was pushed down the stairs by a mysterious perpetrator and it's unclear if she’s okay. But good news, Andre (Trai Byers) isn’t leaving his baby mama hanging. Rumors the actor would not return for the remaining 8 episodes of Empire Season 2 due to ‘creative differences’ are false.
Season 2 saw celebrities like Xzibit, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Jason Derulo, Swizz Beatz, Ne-Yo, Timbaland, Ludacris, Chris Rock, Don Lemon, Sway Calloway, Funkmaster Flex, Pitbull and even more make cameos. Empire Season 1 was not short of guest appearances either. According to Co-creator Lee Daniels, Empire will slow down on the guest appearances for the remainder of the season. During a recent interview at PaleyFest in Hollywood, Daniels explained he thinks the cast can hold their own without so much celebrity support.
“Here's the thing, what I've learned on this journey in television, because I had never done television before, is that we're good enough. Look at them. I want to see them every week," Daniels said while pointing to the cast.
The first half of season 2 faced criticism from even the biggest fans, but Daniels believes the cast and production team have found their groove.
"It was growing pains and I think it would have happened to any show. We were learning. Sometimes you don’t feel like it’s enough. That these people — these wonderfully talented actors — are enough and so you bring in this person, ok maybe we'll get more eyes. …
It's just a process. And at the end of the day, we came back...It's really learning about everybody and trying things out. How do you make greatness without testing?” Daniels added during the panel.
Terrence Howard, who plays the lead role of Lucious Lyon, added that it’s been difficult to deal with the pressure of filming episodes and developing compelling stories at “neck-breaking pace.”
"Every week we hit a hurdle that most people would trip over, but we're able to manage that." However, Howard did admit, "We do have moments where we're like, 'What in the f--- is this?'’ Howard said.
This doesn't mean the cast isn’t interested in some A-list celebrities. Rumored guest star Mariah Carey was eventually confirmed by Daniels in September, according to Entertainment Weekly . Howard told the audience at PaleyFest he’d love cameos from Kendrick Lamar, Adele, and Prince. Gabourey Sidibe, who plays Becky, said she’d love to have Beyonce come on the show. Director Sanaa Hamri would like to add D’Angelo and French Montana to the list.
“Well, from my points of views, I’d like to bring more artists on to perform. Not too many guest stars, but just about integrating those artists. My passion is music,” Hamri told Entertainment Weekly.
Empire drew lower than usual ratings before the season 2 midseason finale compared to the Season 1 finale which boated 17 million viewers. Empire Season 2 picks back up Wednesday, March 30, at 9:00 p.m on Fox.
