Fox is bringing the talents of Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson back together in its new drama centered around a hip-hop mogul titled Empire.
Howard will play the lead role of Lucious Lyon, a hip-hop star who built a massive company from scratch, The Hollywood Reporter points out. "I started selling drugs when I was nine years old," Howard says in the trailer below. "I did it to feed myself. But it was the music, the melodies that played in my head that kept me alive."
After Lyon gets news of his failing health, he turns to his grown children for help running the empire he created. That's when his ex-wife Cookie (Henson) enters the picture. Seemingly back from a prison stint, Cookie wants a share of the company. And the plot thickens.
Howard and Henson notably shared the silver screen in 2005's superb Hustle & Flow. The film scored a slew of awards including a Best Original Song Oscar for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" by Three 6 Mafia. Howard received a Best Actor nod as well.
The mastermind behind big-screen hits The Butler and Precious, Lee Daniels, will also be at the helm of Empire. "I'm just so thankful for Fox. This is really some cutting-edge stuff, it's really out there," Daniels told THR after the show was picked up in May. "They understood my and Danny [Strong]'s vision and they embraced it. They encouraged us to create these incredible characters who are based on real people, family members of mine. I think people will be surprised by the subject matter. They won't know what to make of some of our situations."
Empire premieres in January 2015.
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