Premiering Wednesday, January 7 on Fox (9 pm et/pt), Empire centers on Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), a hip hop mogul who sits on a very coveted throne in the music business. Due to his failing health, Lucious must decide which of his three sons (Bryshere Gray, Jussie Smollett, Trai Byers) will take over his “empire.”

Further complicating matters is his ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), who’s been recently released from prison and plans to stake her claim to the family fortune.

With filmmaker Lee Daniels (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, The Paperboy) serving as an executive producer and Timbaland on board as the music supervisor, Empire has collected an impressive cast and crew (the series was created by actor/scribe Danny Strong, who penned the script for Lee Daniels’ The Butler).

For Taraji P. Henson, who previously had a successful run on the CBS series Person of Interest, one reason she joined the series was her overall belief in Fox’s creative direction:

“They’re not afraid to push the envelope. I think Fox is one of the major networks that’s beginning to take that leap – they’re seeing why primetime television shows aren’t being recognized at award shows. Because on HBO and Showtime, they’re making people think. It’s not so safe – that’s life.”

To hear Taraji P. Henson talk about Cookie’s fashion sense on Empire (as well as Cookie’s character arc), click on the audio below: