Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson, pictured here at the 2015 Summer TCA Tour in West Hollywood Aug. 6, 2015, told showrunner Lee Daniels it was a no-brainer to cast Adam Rodriguez as her character's love interest on "Empire." Getty

The Lyons are expected to continue to battle each other in “Empire” Season 2, as Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), Andre (Trai Byers), Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Anika (Grace Gealey) will all be attempting a hostile takeover of Empire with Lucious (Terrence Howard) now behind bars for Bunkie's (Antoine McKay) murder. However, taking over the label won't be the only thing tugging at Cookie's heart.

In an interview with Extra, Henson revealed she will have a new love interest in the upcoming season, played by Adam Rodriguez. Henson and Rodriguez starred together in the 2009 Tyler Perry film “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.” Lee Daniels reached out to Henson about Rodriguez and she said he should hire him.

“We have chemistry, we worked together before, it's easy,” Henson said.

Variety reports Rodriguez will be a recurring guest star on the show, portraying Laz Delgado. Cookie better watch out because Delgado is said to be a "smooth-talking concert promoter." While the character has the power of "expert hustler skills," he's also a former EMT, which means he used to being in high stress situations -- and that will come in handy when dealing with the Lyon family.

Meanwhile, Henson previously revealed to Harper's Bazaar that she modeled her character off of her late father. “He had no buffer. He spoke the truth.” Henson dished. "It's heroic because in this society we have been trained to be politically correct. Political correctness is b-------. If I ask you a question right now, the first thing that comes in your mind is the truth. But we've all been trained to breathe, digest the question, and manipulate the answer. Cookie doesn't do that.”

The upcoming season of “Empire” is expected to be loaded with drama and guest stars. In addition to Rodriguez, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz and Kelly Rowland are also reported to be guest starring in Season 2.

The second season will also be longer as there are 18 episodes instead of 12. Who will get control of Empire this season?

“Empire” Season 2 premieres Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. EDT on Fox.

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