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Empire has come to an end, but one of the series’ most memorable characters could be getting a second life. Cookie Lyon, played by Taraji P. Henson for six seasons of the show on Fox, may be the center of a new Empire spinoff series, Variety reports.
Henson, who signed a two-year first look-deal with 20th Century Fox Television, is currently developing a series about her Empire character, the iconic matriarch of the Lyon family and ex-wife of music mogul Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard).
While Henson’s project is only in the very first stages of development, the show “follows what’s next for Cookie,” and will star Henson, who will also produce. Danny Strong, a co-creator on Empire, will write the series with Stacy Littlejohn and Yolonda Lawrence, and Sanaa Hamri will direct. Precious and The Butler producer Lee Daniels will executive produce the Cookie spinoff.
Empire, which first premiered on Fox in 2015, follows the politics and drama of Empire Entertainment, a company run by Lucious. When he receives some devastating news about his health, Lucious must decide which of his three sons will take over as CEO…until Cookie comes back into his life and complicates his future plans.
Henson, whose fan-favorite role of Cookie earned her three Emmy nominations and a 2016 Golden Globe award, has teased a potential spinoff series in the past. The actress recently launched her own production company, TPH Entertainment. As part of her deal with 20th Century Fox Television, Henson will create projects for the studio with TPH.
“I believe that normalizing stories around stigmatizing matters will make them more palatable for audiences to embrace,” Henson said in a statement. “Art can change perception and I plan to develop projects that can help further the conversation. I also aim to help cultivate and establish new young talent and their stories because they are our future and deserve a voice and a platform to be heard. I’m so excited to have 20th, led by the talented Carolyn Cassidy, support me in this new endeavor.”
