‘Empire’ Will Return For Season 3 — But What About Mariah & Oprah’s Guest Appearances?

Rejoice! Empire has been officially renewed for a third season, as if there was any doubt the Lyons wouldn’t be back on Fox. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the renewal was announced at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. Show co-creator and executive producer Danny Strong said that conversations about Season 3 haven’t happened just yet, but it sounds like the season will be 18 episodes, just like Season 2 is set to be.

“I don’t really want to do more,” he said to the press. “It’s hard to pull the show off.” And what he means is that the show is lots of work for the cast, crew, and behind-the-scenes music folks who produce original songs for every episode.

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Strong also answered questions about a few rumored guest stars that have yet to surface in the Lyon’s den: Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey. This is where the bad news comes in. Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey won’t be guest stars. Sorry, folks.

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“None of those people are going to actually be on the show so I can’t control what names all of a sudden take off as being guest stars because they’re not,” Strong told the press.

At one point, co-creator and exec producer Lee Daniels had announced that both big names were due to guest on Empire, but it sounds like Oprah wasn’t able to fit an appearance on her schedule. Daniels worked with Oprah on the movie The Butler and worked with Carey on The Butler and Precious. 

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In general, Strong told the press we can count on seeing more of the Lyons and less guest stars in the second half of Empire‘s second season, which premieres in March,