↑ Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) is the new star of the talk show Tea Talk
“LOT OF DRAMA
coming your way, just like
Empire is known to do,” says
Taraji P. Henson. Ain’t that the
truth. After four and a half
seasons of betrayals, deaths,
and a ghost wife, the drama
moved off screen earlier this
year when what started as an
alleged homophobic and racial-
ly charged attack on star Jussie
Smollett took more twists and
turns than an Empire story
line. Smollett was eventually
arrested for filing a false police
report (the charges have since
been dropped), leading to his
removal from season 5’s final
episodes and co-creator Lee
Daniels saying the actor won’t
return, his absence explained
by Jamal (Smollett) moving to
London with his husband. “We
miss him immensely,” Henson
admits of her TV son. “I lost one
of my babies—and that hurts.”
But with the Smollett situa-
tion seemingly behind them, the
team is now focused on crafting
a “big and dynamic” final sea-
son. “We’ve tried to make every
episode feel like an event and
answer questions that have
been raised throughout the
Returning Drama � Season 6 � SEPT—24
9 pm � FOX
Empire
series,” shares showrunner
Brett Mahoney. And since
Cookie (Henson) refuses to go on
the run with Lucious (Terrence
Howard) in the season 5 finale,
Henson says it’s time for her
character to “save herself and
love herself,” with Mahoney add-
ing that it’s not a “foregone
conclusion” that Cookie and
Lucious end up together. While
the future of the troubled couple
is still unknown, Henson is sure
of one thing when it comes to
Cookie: “She gave me a second
life in this industry and made me
a pop star in my 40s,” she says
with a laugh. “Long after I’m gone,
people will be talking about
Cookie.” —DEREK LAWRENCE
fall
tv pre
view
2019
CHUCK HODES/FOX
FROM #1 NEW YORK TIMES
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