Empire: Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken on the Evolution of Lucious Lyon

Empire left us with lots of unanswered questions with their mid-season finale.

Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken recently spoke with reporters about we could expect when Season 2 returns, and while Chaiken didn’t want to give too much away, she did give us some tasty tidbits about what to expect from this groundbreaking show, including how big of an arc the ‘who pushed Rhonda’ question will play in the episodes.

“I’m not going to tell you when we’ll find out,” said Chaiken. “I will say that the story arc plays a large role at times, and it ebbs and flows in terms of how prominent it is in the relationships among the characters.”

We don’t know about Rhonda’s condition or where her story arc is going, and while Empire usually ends with an explosive cliffhanger moment, Chaiken said that there is no push to kill off characters.

“There’s certainly not an urge or an urgency, rather, as you put it, to kill someone off. We never said, “Oh, we have to kill somebody.” Chaiken explained. “Should that happen, it will happen organically.”

The second half of the season will focus much more on the Lyon family. Chaiken addressed the presence of guest stars in this the second half of the season. In the past, we’ve seen Marisa Tomei, Pitbull, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, and Alicia Keys.

In the second half of the season, the guest stars won’t be as prominent and the ones that do come into play, are grounded in the Empire universe.

Meanwhile, some of the characters are even making their way into B-side promos.

“We also are running the Porsha/Becky B-sides promos because in the amount of time that we have to tell these stories we wish we could tell more Porsha/Becky stories, and it was a great, fun thing to be able to spend a little bit of time just with those two girls, seeing how they are separated apart from the stories that occupy most of our television.”

Chaiken also talked a bit about what we can see from Lucious in these upcoming episodes. That patriarch of the Lyon family has been an interesting character to watch these last two years. Between his diagnosis of ALS, his relationship with his two sons, and the way he ruthlessly runs his record label he’s a compelling, but always the most likable character. In these eight episodes, we will start to see how Lucious got to where he is.

“Lucious’ back story…is a very big part of the second half of season two. A lot will be revealed. It will have repercussions and huge consequences for everyone in the family. Lucious is the start of Empire—his story, where he comes from, and why he is who he is, is what the show is all about in so many ways just in the way that children are in part a result of their parents’ experiences,” Chaiken explained.

“He goes through such extraordinary things in such a deep and intense way, and Terrance Howard’s performance in those episodes is just remarkable. I’m really, really excited for people to watch and see where we go with this character and where Terrance takes him.”

Chaiken also addressed Jamal’s sexuality, including the show’s representation of sexual fluidity and whether or not Lucious would ever accept Jamal, especially after his hook-up with Skye. Before the fall finale, Lucious implied that Skye fixed Jamal and Jamal’s sexuality has always been a point of contention between them.

“Given where Lucious began in the pilot, the depth of his homophobia, Lucious has evolved. He’s become more open. I hate the word ‘tolerant,’ but in Lucious’ case, it might be an apt word. He’s tolerant, but he certainly hasn’t vanquished homophobia in his own world view. It will come out in different ways. He’ll take steps forward and he’ll backslide from time to time because that’s who he is and that’s how life goes,” said Chaiken.

In addition to their nuanced portrayal of sexual fluidity, Empire has also tackled bipolar disorder through Andre. Chaiken also talks about the show’s nuanced portrayals of sexuality and mental illness. “One of the greatest opportunities for doing this show is portraying those character nuances, those complexities of character, not simply telling the story of a gay character and saying that’s all there is to him—he’s the gay character—but talking about sexuality as a complex thing that’s unique to every individual.”

Empire hasn’t shied away from tackling hot-button issues either. Earlier this year, the show addressed the #BlackLivesMatter movement. While work hasn’t started on Season 3, Chaiken anticipates that there will be more political discussions.

“I would say that it’s safe to anticipate that you’ll always hear political discussions on Empire because it’s in the fabric of this world and in the lives and minds of the characters we’re talking about,” said Chaiken. “I don’t know that we’re telling a story explicitly that’s about a political subject, but I think the show by definition lives in that world of culture and politics.”

What are your hopes for the upcoming episodes of Empire? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Empire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on FOX.