The only thing more exciting than Empire Season 2 premiering on Wednesday night is how many guest stars the drama series' sophomore run will bring. Among the new faces ready to go head-to-head with the Lyon family are Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Chris Rock, and Marisa Tomei, who will play Mimi Whiteman, as reported by TVLine. But who is this new character and what does she want with Empire Entertainment? Mimi is an extremely rich, fashionable, powerful lesbian, who showrunner Ilene Chaiken told TVLine is “one of those very, very rich people who thinks that it would be really fun to own a movie company or to own a music company."
If Tomei is unfamiliar to you, I highly recommend you go watch the 1992 movie My Cousin Vinny on the streaming platform of your choosing. Tomei won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the hilarious and very sharp Mona Lisa Vito. In a career spanning three decades, the actress has also appeared in The Paper, Four Rooms, What Women Want, Someone Like you, Anger Management, Wild Hogs, The Wrestler, Grown Ups, Crazy Stupid Love, and recently, Amy Schumer's hit movie Trainwreck.
Tomei has a lot of experience being a scene stealer, so how will she shake things up on Empire? Let me count the ways, right after catching up on Season 1 with this drunk recap video.
Clash With Cookie
You know Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) will have a fellow powerful woman's number from the get-go. She'll want to know what this Mimi is all about. But they do look pretty cozy in that photo above, don't they? I can imagine they might get off to a rocky start and then become friends once the balance of power is figured out.
Talk Money With Andre
Mimi's got money and money is certainly always a concern of the business-minded Andre (Trai Byers). Last season, he was denied the Empire Entertainment throne he wanted so badly and now he has a child on the way with wife Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday). It's a good time for him to join forces with a billionaire who can help him obtain the power he lusts for.
Strategize With Lucious
Sure, Lucious is in jail right now, but even that can't stop him. Remember how much business George Bluth Sr. got done from jail in Arrested Development? I think Lucious would do triple that from behind bars. And maybe Mimi is one of his new business partners on the outside.
Sabotage With Anika
I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of Boo Boo Kitty. Anika could be using Mimi to infiltrate Empire and get her revenge for everything that happened last season.
Invest In Jamal Or Hakeem
Since she's already super rich and successful, perhaps Mimi is tired of the business world and wants to get involved in music producing. And she sees Hakeem (Bryshere Gray) and/or Jamal (Jussie Smollett), who are stars on the rise, as the perfect opportunity to get her feet wet in the creative side of things. Of course, it'll be a challenge for all involved.
No matter what happens, it sounds like Mimi will definitely make some waves in the Lyon family when Empire Season 2 premieres.
Images: Chuck Hodes/FOX (7)
