Taraji P. Henson is rejoining some of her “Empire” family for a new spin-off, but it won’t be on Fox.
Fox passed on the series which follows Henson’s Cookie Lyon, hoping to bring “Empire” to a proper close after the original series finale was delayed amid the coronavirus outbreak.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Danny Strong, Yolanda Lawrence and Stacy Littlejohn will serve as showrunners and writers with Sanaa Hamri attached to direct. Strong co-created “Empire” with Lee Daniels.
Disney TV Studios’ 20th Television and Imagine TV are shopping the show to Disney owned outlets ABC and Hulu, Deadline reports.
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Official plot details are being kept under wraps, but sources tell THR that the spinoff will follow Cookie as she moves to L.A.
“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 endeavour!”
Henson’s newly formed TPH Entertainment will serve as producer.
“Empire” ran for eight seasons between 2015 and 2020.
