Sad news for the fans, "Empire" co-creator Danny Strong confirmed in a recent interview that Mariah Carey will not be hanging out with Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson), following what co-creator Lee Daniels teased which hyped up the fans.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter at the Fox's winter press tour party, Danny Strong said, "None of those people are going to actually be on the show."
"I can't control what names all of a sudden take off as being guest stars because they're not," he added, saying that even talks about Oprah Winfrey doing an appearance is not happening, as well.
Various A-listers have already graced Season 2 of "Empire" including Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland, Pitbull, Timbaland, Chris Rock and Marisa Tomei. Reports about Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey joining the list of Season 2 guest stars started surfacing when, according to Billboard, "Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels announced that he is in talks with Winfrey and in August last year, openly confirmed during Mariah Carey's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony that the pop star is guesting on the hit hip-hop drama series.
"Watch her [Mariah Carey] on 'Empire,' you guys. She's coming on 'Empire," Daniels announced.
Meanwhile, Danny Strong said that when "Empire" Season 2 returns on Mar. 30, it will be pulling back on such stunt casting, saying, "In the second half of the season, it's going to be way lighter on the celebrity guest stars."
In other news, Fox has already ordered another round of "Empire." In other words, Season 3 is confirmed for the hit series. This was announced by Fox during its portion at the Television Critics Association Executive Session. Although the series did not match its debut season's historical ratings, according to Deadline, it is still one of Fox's most popular programs and it ranks number one for adults between the age 19 and 48. Not to mention the Golden Globe it recently won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series with Taraji P. Henson's portrayal of Cookie Lyon.
