Taraji P. Henson is developing a first-look deal to include her Empire spinoff with 20th Century Fox TV. The show, centered around her character ‘Cookie’, is set to be written by Stacy A. Littlejohn, Yolanda Lawrence and Empire co-creator Danny Strong. Lee Daniel’s is on board to EP and Sanaa Hamri to direct.
“I believe that normalizing stories around stigmatizing matters will make them more palatable for audiences to embrace. Art can change perception and I plan to develop projects that can help further the conversation.” said Henson. “I also aim to help cultivate and establish new young talent and their stories because they are our future and deserve a voice and a platform to be heard. I’m so excited to have 20th, led by the talented Carolyn Cassidy, support me in this new endeavor.”
Henson and her company TPH Entertainment will also produce additional projects across multiple platforms for the studio under the deal.
“We were lucky to have a front row seat to Taraji’s meteoric rise as a fixture on television through Empire,” said 20th Century Fox TV president Cassidy Thursday. “Through that relationship everyone at the company grew to appreciate her passion for storytelling and her strong creative gut instinct. With Empire finished we look forward to helping her explore stories that need to be told through her talent and advocacy.”
Empire ended its six season run earlier this year leaving the door open for the rumored spinoff to be realized.
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