'Empire' season 3 air date, spoilers news: New season to tell Cookie–Lucious backstory, introduce new love interest for Cookie

"Empire" season 3 will introduce a handful of new romances into the tangled web of relationships in the world of the Lyons.

First, Jamal (Jussie Smollett), who was shot in the show's previous season, will get a new love interest in the persona of a military veteran who is running a PTSD support program that he attends in the new season. Philip, the PTSD counselor who is set to be played by "Murder in the First" actor Juan Antonio, will reportedly be someone who isn't interested in Jamal's fame and fortune and will be someone with whom the troubled middle Lyon son can have an honest relationship.

Meanwhile, Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray), the youngest of the Lyon siblings, will attempt to get back together with Tiana (Serayah). Unfortunately, Tiana already has a new boyfriend: another rapper named Gram (Romeo Miller) who becomes Hakeem's rival both in the recording studio and in Tiana's heart.

But the most interesting romances in the upcoming third season of the hit musical drama will not be among the show's young characters. According to "Empire" executive producer Ilene Chaiken, "Empire" season 3 will revisit Lucious (Terrence Howard) and Cookie's (Taraji P. Henson) past to tell the story of how they fell in love with each other.

"We call it, 'When Lucious Met Cookie,'" Chaiken told Entertainment Weekly. "People are gonna find out Cookie isn't from [the wrong] side of the tracks."

"Private Practice" alum Taye Diggs, who is set to play Angelo Dubois, Cookie's new love interest, added, "[Cookie] had an opportunity to be with an outstanding young man when she was younger and she chose Lucious, so I think that plays a part in her wondering if she has another chance to make a better choice."

Chaiken described Angelo in another EW interview, saying: "He's not a criminal but he's every bit as much a player. He's a baller in his world just as Lucious is a baller in his world."

"Empire" season 3 is scheduled to debut on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.