'Empire' Season 2 Might Be Better Than Its First

Everything is set to explode on the Season 1 finale of Empire, from the peace between the brothers, to Cookie's newfound love connection, to Lucious' grasp on Empire Entertainment (the man's made a lot of enemies recently). And now the show's millions of fans will be left wondering what will happen in Empire Season 2. While the second season is probably close to a year away, unless they push up the production schedule a whole lot to get it here by the time fall TV premieres, there's a lot of time to wait.

Thankfully, producers/creators Danny Strong and Lee Daniels are blabbermouths and love a good piece of gossip and a good hint about the next season that doesn't give too much away. They've been teasing a few changes, some of their crazy hopes (the potential guest star list is INSANE), and all-around taking advantage of the show's incredible popularity and the time they have to prepare for its return.

Most of the rumors, gossip, and spoilers boil down to this: Season 2 will feature more of the same. Everything the audience loves about Empire, the cast and crew also love about Empire, from its campy sense of humor, to its engagement with all sorts of social issues, to its focus on writing complex black characters. We can count on plenty more of all of that.

There Will Be Plenty Of Famous Guest Stars

Oprah. Common. Barack Obama. Okay, maybe not Obama (even though Lee Daniels loves to claim that the Commander in Chief would make for a good guest spot), but Empire has already lined up a group of amazing stars to make cameos in Season 2. And that's not counting the recurring guests from Season 1 who might return for a little more, like Jennifer Hudson or Courtney Love. Who's to say that Andre might not need a little more counseling or that Elle won't return for another recording session?

Jamal's Life Will Go Back To Normal

Adding Jamal's former wife and his potential daughter, the adorable Lola, was a big complication for his storyline this season. But next season, according to TVLine, we'll get to see more of his life now that he publicly came out as gay — and what that means for his future at Empire Entertainment. Because now his plan to take over Lucious' company is directly tied to forcing his father to accepting his sexuality.

They Won't Try to Overextend The Season

One of the best things about Empire is that it blazed in out of nowhere in January and wrapped up before the end of March. And the producers want to keep the series as a limited one, with Danny Strong telling Deadline about the amount of episodes, "I don’t think 22 is the discussion." But that's actually a good thing, as it will keep things from getting too overextended. A few weeks of guns being brandished, paternity questioned, and original songs is one thing. But stretching it out over a period of 22 weeks, from fall until late spring? By then, even the most ardent Empire fans would be exhausted.

There Will Still Be Rivalry Between The Lyon Brothers

Even though at the end of Season 1, it looks like everyone is starting to realize just how much Lucious manipulated them, that doesn't mean that the Lyon brothers will all of a sudden start getting along. Quite the contrary, in fact — Bryshere Gray promised Abington's Wicked Local a huge, rivalry-related moment in the Season 1 finale, and Jussie Smollett said, "Season 2 will be, 'OK, let's go back and let's clean up all of the Lyon's stuff.'"

It Won't Start By Resolving A Huge Cliffhanger

According to Deadline, when asked about the Season 1 finale, Strong responded by saying that they weren't going to "Laura Palmer" the finale. That's a reference to the show Twin Peaks, which drew ire from its devoted fans after the well-rated first season for its finale, which ended on an enormous cliffhanger. No such mysteries for Empire's finale, which will hopefully have a good mix of surprises and resolutions.

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