"Empire" 2.0 anyone? Following the success of his musical drama "Empire," co-creator Lee Daniels revealed that he is working on another show that will also force on the lies, deceit and talent of the cut-throat music industry. FOX network announced on Thursday at the 2015 Television Critics Association summer press tour that it's ordered a new pilot for a new drama called "Star." The show will tell the story of three young Atlanta women as they struggle to break into the music industry as a girl group.
The show will also be "exploring cultural themes from a new perspective." Fox said casting the series is expected to begin shortly. Daniels will serve as writer, director and executive producer.
"There is going to be a spinoff from 'Empire,' without question," Daniels told a panel of TV critics (via TV Line). "There's so much ripe story that we've talked about already, about Cookie's (Taraji P. Henson) family, what makes her her. That in itself is fascinating to me."
"Like Empire, it's set against the backdrop of the music business but from a very different perspective," Fox chairman and CEO Gary Newman said in a statement. "Set Atlanta, it's about three girls who come together to form a band and it's about their rise to the top in a very challenging business. It's the perspective of the artist and, without getting too much into the storyline, one of our characters is rising out of poverty and there is a lot from Lee's own life that's baked into the DNA of this project."
Walden added that there is a possibility for the two series to crossover, saying "It is modern day music business in Atlanta and 'Empire' is modern day music business in New York...it's not inconceivable that the two worlds could cross. But that's definitely not Lee's intention as we go into it."
"Star" would follow on the huge success of "Empire," which arrived in January and became the biggest hit of the TV season - averaging 17 million viewers weekly. The show stars Jussie Smollett, Taraji P Henson, Terrence Howard, Trai Byers, Bryshere Gray and Grace Gealey.
"Empire" is expected to have a major celebrity presence for the upcoming second season. Chris Rock, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Pitbull, Kelly Rowland and Marisa Tomei will all appear in the next season. Despite the casting announcements, Daniels said that producers will not go overboard with the guest appearances.
"When you start a television show, you don't really know what you're doing, and so you think you'll get your friends together and everything, and I find that the more celebrities, the more stars I put on this show, the more it takes away from the (Lyon) family. The family, the family, the family is the most important thing," Daniels said, according to Billboard.com.
"Empire" season two premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 23 on Fox.
