We already know a lot about season two of ‘Empire’

We’re still a summer away from the season premiere of Empire, but here’s the good news: spoilers are dropping left and right. Spoiler TV just hit us with a major truth bomb about the first new episode on deck. It’s going to be called “The Devils Are Here” and Lucious will be stuck in jail (still!) when the series picks up where it left off.

Meanwhile, at last week’s ATX Television Festival panel, show creator and executive producer Danny Strong and co-executive producer Wendy Calhoun talked about the massive success of the show and dropped plenty of hints about what they have in store for Season 2.  Although the second season won’t premiere until September, plenty of news has been leaking from the set, and Strong and Calhoun were more than happy to let fans know what they have in store. So here’s all we know so far.

18 Episodes…18 More Episodes

Season 2 is getting six more episodes than last season to showcase Cookie’s outfits, Jamal’s high notes and Luscious’s shady manipulations. The main focus on season 2 is going to be the changing power dynamic among the Lyons. Strong compared the show to Game of Thrones saying, “season 1 was about who will inherit the throne; season 2 is about warring kingdoms.”  Does that mean Cookie is going to get a trio of dragons?

More Flashbacks

We already knew Cookie was a superhero, and in Season 2, we may get her origin story. The producers revealed that there are going to be plenty of flashbacks, and we’re going to get an in-depth backstory for one of the characters. Get ready for some serious 90s fashion. “I’m just watching for Cookie’s hairstyles!” said co-executive producer Wendy Calhoun.

Jamal’s In the Hot Seat

At the end of Season 1, Jamal and Luscious revisited the site of some painful memories, and it seemed like Luscious was ready to name Jamal as his successor. But Jamal shouldn’t get too comfortable just yet. “Just because you get the Empire, doesn’t mean you keep the Empire,” warned executive producer Danny Strong.

Motherly Love

Viewers may have gotten the impression that Andre was Cookie’s least favorite son and the outcast of the family, but in the new season they’re going to grow a lot closer. “There are going to be a lot of shifting alliances and new relationships,” Strong revealed. And Andre and Cookie are going to get lots more quality time together. No doubt, Rhonda, Andre’s controlling wife, will not be happy.

Alicia Keys, Chris Rock and Lenny Kravitz Will Guest Star

The show became so popular during its first season run that even Beyonce and Oprah wanted guest spots, but fans shouldn’t expect a Star of the Week. While we do know that Chris Rock, Lenny Kravitz and Alicia Keys have been confirmed as guest stars for the second season, but like Naomi Campbell and Courtney Love, they’ll be playing original characters. Strong said that any guest stars on the show “would have to make sense.” “There’s pressure to stunt cast, but we don’t need it,” he added.

Boo-Boo Kitty

Calhoun and Strong revealed that the actors improvise a lot of their lines, and that Taraji P. Henson ad-libbed her famous “Boo Boo Kitty” line. And Grace Gealey will definitely be back for round 2. “I’m so protective of Boo Boo Kitty!” Calhoun explained. Calhoun also said that the show’s writers have a whole glossary of words that they’ve developed to avoid using profanity. We can’t wait to see what the writers and Taraji come up with next.

The second season of Empire premieres on September 23rd on Fox.

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