According to the The Los Angeles Times, producer Timbaland has been selected to write and produce original music for the Lee Daniels pilot Empire. The show, which will star Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, centers around a hip-hop mogul and his family. Howard will play Lucious Lyon, the business savvy head of a record label. Henson portrays Cookie, Lucious' ex-wife who spent 17 years behind bars for dealing drugs. And now that she's out on good behavior, Cookie returns to reclaim her share of profits funneled into Lucious' fledgling music business. Adding drama, the pair will be at odds over the sexuality of their musical prodigy son, who is gay
Henson and Howard last teamed up in 2005 on John Singleton’s Hustle & Flow. Timbaland’s reemergence as a producer of merit was marked by 2013, in which he continually had a hand in quality works including Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience, Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail, and Beyoncé’s self-titled surprise album. Empire is written and executive-produced by Lee Daniels (Precious, The Butler) and Danny Strong.
