Michael Lavine/FOXIt's not business. It's personal.
That's the Lyon family' motto heading into Empire's highly anticipated second season, with the epic family battle being teased in the first promo for the Fox hit's Sept. 23 return.
In addition to Lucious (Terrence Howard) behind bars in an orange jumpsuit, the trailer teases the epic standoff ahead between brothers Jamal (Jussie Smollett) and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray). "I'm going to bury your album," Jamal warns, while Hakeem says, "I'm gonna be bigger than you'll ever be. Bigger than dad, too." Anyone else have chills?!
Oh, and we also get our first look at a few of season two's big guest stars, including Marisa Tomei, whose character seems to be Team Lucious, Ludacris (as a prison guard), and Chris Rock as one of Lucious' fellow inmates. Game on, people!
And co-creator Lee Daniels and star Taraji P. Henson talked about the new season at the 2015 Television Critics Association summer press tour, and of course, the star's breakout performance as Cookie Lyon, one that earned her an Emmy nomination.
"I'm having the time of my life," Henson says of playing the "bold" Cookie. "I say that probably 80 percent is Cookie and may 20 percent is Taraji...she can fly off the handle and say whatever she wants to."
And Cookie will continue to provide the laughs and gasps in season two, with Henson admitting, "I'm like, 'Do you really want me to say that?!'"
She continued to go on and tell an anecdote from filming the season two premiere, "I went to video village and I'm like, 'Guys what are we doing her? We're talking about taking apart the machine? What is happening?!'" And the answer she got? Well, originally showrunner Ilene Chaiken wouldn't reveal her response, saying, "I can't say those words here!"
Fortunately, Daniels stepped in to say it for her: "She said, 'We're here to f--k this shit up!'"
Welcome to Empire season two!
Henson also talked about the sudden success she and the rest of the cast, namely the actors playing her youngest sons, Smollett and Gray, have been experiencing, saying she makes sure to keep them grounded.
Calling them her "babies," Henson said, "I just had a conversation with Yazz [Gray] about saving his money, not believing your own hype." She also said they used to offer to be her "bodyguard" when she wanted to go to Target during the filming of season one, saying, "They used to play my bodyguard...I'm like, 'Who's going to be your bodyguard next season?' And now it's next season and I'm like, 'You still wanna go to Target?'
"I'm constantly checking in on them. When you're on that set that set life bleeds into," she explained. "They're constantly over at my house, I cook for them, making sure their head is right and they're not getting lost in this thing called Hollywood."
Empire season two premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 23 on Fox.