‘Taraji’s White Hot Holidays’: When And Where To Watch ‘Empire’ Actress’ Special

“Empire” Season 4 may have aired its mid-season finale on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean fans have to say goodbye to one of the series’ most popular cast members just yet.

Taraji P. Henson, who plays Cookie Lyon on the hit show, will be hosting “Taraji’s White Hot Holidays” one night after the last episode of the 2017 season airs. The holiday special is a variety show that will run for an hour on Fox, consisting of fun sketches, performances and more.

Promising a night full of entertainment, Taraji’s holiday special will feature appearances from Niecy Nash, DJ Khaled, Taye Diggs, Method Man, Jay Pharoah and several others, along with surprise guests and performances.

Viewers should also expect to hear some of their favorite holiday classics when Taraji is joined on stage by a long list of performers including her “Empire” co-star Jussie Smollet, Chaka Khan, Faith Evans, Fergie, Ciara, Salt-N-Pepa, the Ying Yang Twins and Leslie Odom Jr.

Since appearing in films like “Hidden Figures” and “Proud Mary,” the actress has not been shy about her desire to branch out and take on more roles that aren’t similar to her character Cookie Lyon.

Taraji told the New York Daily News that she didn’t want to get comfortable constantly portraying the same character.

“It’s very important to me to diversify the roles I play. When you play one character all the time, you can start to rely on a bag of tricks. I want to keep challenging myself,” she said.

Taraji first brought the idea of a holiday special to Fox in 2015 and included her “Empire” family in all of the fun.

The actress initially hosted “Taraji and Terrence’s White Hot Holidays,” alongside her Fox co-star, Terrence Howard, but the actor has since opted out of the co-hosting gig.

The actor wasn’t the only cast member who skipped the opportunity to return for the holiday special. The rest of her co-stars also passed on participating in the special the following year and Taraji continued the annual variety hour on her own.

“The others didn’t want to do it, which was fine. They’re busy,” she explained.

Although she no longer has her co-workers by her side, the actress revealed that there was no love lost. “I love Terrance to death,” she said.

“But this is my show,” she added.

“Taraji’s White Hot Holidays” airs Thursday at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.