As all Empire fans know by now, Season 6 did not get the send off that the producers, stars or viewers had hoped for. The season was already set to be the last one from the hit musical drama, but production shut downs in March led to the show having to cobble together a series finale for Episode 18, instead of being able to take fans through Episode 20. The result was that some very important stories didn't get resolved at all (and the finale was more than a bit confusing), but now we know that a spinoff is coming, and I've no doubt that everyone will love who it's going to focus on.
That's right, Empire fans, Cookie is finally getting her full day in the sun, as Fox has actually begun development on the long-rumored spinoff, and it's set to center on the bold Ms. Cookie Lyon, herself. Even better, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Taraji P. Henson, who, of course, brought the drama-loving character to life for all six seasons of Empire, is set to star in the proposed series, which is rumored to follow Cookie as she moves to Los Angeles, and could feature some of her other family members.
If you have any worries at all about making sure that Cookie is treated right in this possible new series, you can set your stress aside. The currently untitled project will have co-showrunners in Empire co-creator Danny Strong, and show veterans Stacy A. Littlejohn and Yolanda Lawrence. Littlejohn, Lawrence and Strong will also co-write, while director Sanaa Hamri (Empire, Shameless) has been set to helm the project. All four will executive produce alongside co-creator Lee Daniels and Taraji P. Henson.
It's no surprise that any of these creators were eager to jump back aboard the Cookie train, as Henson and many of the others involved had wanted to do more in the world of Empire anyway, and the actress, especially, spoke out after the finale and revealed how "incomplete" she felt because of not getting to bring audiences the planned ending. Henson also said that she was "pushing" to see if there was a way to get the actual finale filmed and in front of viewers, and it's being said that this spinoff could help fans get the conclusion they were supposed to.
It was as early as August 2015 that Lee Daniels spoke openly about wanting to do more with Cookie in a potential spinoff. The character is obviously one of the major reasons for the fast and furious success of the series, as Taraji P. Henson brought a lot of flash, sass and sarcasm to the role. That first idea was focused on doing a prequel which showed a young Cookie with her family, but some of that was likely due to Empire itself still being on the air. Now that the parent show has moved on to that TV graveyard in the sky, it's the perfect time to give current day Cookie her own show.
Taraji P. Henson's Cookie spinoff is still in the very early stages, so we don't know yet when or if the project will actually hit Fox, or how many episodes we could see, so be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest!
