Empire: Scoop on Ludacris' role, Rhonda related scoop and more on season 2 from TVLine's Michael Ausiello

Here's some scoop on Empire from this week's (Posted on 9/18/15) Ask Ausiello column.

Question: So excited about the return of Empire. Make me more excited by throwing a scoop my way, please! —Brittany
Ausiello: Executive producer Brian Grazer told us at the show’s red-carpet premiere event that guest star Ludacris — playing a prison guard who has a contentious relationship with Terrence Howard’s Lucious — may prove the most surprising addition to the Season 2 cast. That said, Grazer added that the show’s creative team is “coming to the conclusion that as great as these guest stars are, it’s the [core] characters themselves that we need to give even more screen time.” One of those delicious Lyons, newly pregnant (and murderous) Rhonda, will be “softer” when the Fox smash returns next week, teases her portrayer, Kaitlin Doubleday. “She’s more worried about Andre having another mental breakdown or confessing [to his role in Uncle Vernon’s death] than she is in saying, ‘Let’s figure out how we can f–k over your family,'” she says.

Question: My favorite character on Empire is Porsha. Now that Ta’Rhonda Jones is a series regular, I’m desperate to know what we can expect for her! —Keith
Ausiello: Don’t throw your damn shoe, Keith, because according to Jones herself, Porsha won’t have time to get it for you. Instead, she’ll be too busy keeping a spying eye out for her boss Cookie’s best interests. And despite Cookie’s notoriously short fuse, Jones says you shouldn’t look for any angsty moments between the Lyon matriarch and her assistant. “Porsha is as green as they come, but her and Cookie have this mutual understanding,” Jones says. “Porsha knows Cookie was locked up for a really long time, and she’s got a lot on her plate. She’s trying to figure out who her sons are. She’s got Lucious with all his dirty, deceitful games he’s playing. Whatever happens, Porsha knows Cookie doesn’t mean her harm.” BONUS SCOOP: Remember how last month, Adam Bush got cast as Chase One, “an avant-garde gay artist” who becomes infatuated with his male star during a photo shoot? Busch’s erstwhile Buffy co-star and current Empire EP Danny Strong tells us Chase will wind up “connecting with” Jussie Smollett’s Jamal in an episode he wrote and directed. Speaking of the Fox phenom…

♦ I’ve seen the first two episodes of Empire Season 2 and I got nary a whiff of a sophomore slump. The show continues to fire on all creative cylinders, I am relieved to report. Even the parade of guest stars didn’t distract from the central Lyon-family narrative. If anything, the spot-on performances from the likes of Chris Rock and Marisa Tomei only added to the entertainment value. The real star of the premiere: Boo Boo Kitty herself, Grace Gealey. Cookie’s underrated punching bag is at the center of my two favorite moments, one of which is pure physical comedy gold, and another is her just absorbing a classic Cookie zinger. With all due respect to the great Taraji P. Henson, let’s keep in mind that Cookie’s Boo Boo kabooms  wouldn’t land as spectacularly as they do without Gealey’s restrained, subtle reaction shots.

Link to the full article:‘Bones’ Season 11 and Booth: Death Spoiler — Ask Ausiello | TVLine