'Empire' season 3B spoilers: Jamal's life in rehab to be explored; will Andre kill Lucious?
After dealing with new obstacles, the Lyons will try to get their lives back on track when Fox's hit musical drama "Empire" returns for the back half of season 3 next year.
In the show's emotionally-charged fall finale, "A Furnace for Your Foe," Andre (Trai Byers) finally let his deceased wife Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) go, thanks to his new romance, Nessa (Sierra McClain). Jamal (Jussie Smollett) had to control his painkiller addiction by going to rehab, while Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) was forced to deal with her son's issue and Angelo's (Taye Diggs) failed mayoral campaign. At the end of the episode, a seemingly recharged Andre told Shine (Xzibit) that he is still determined to kill his own father, Lucious (Terrence Howard).
The show is scheduled to have a three-month break before its return to TV screens. Executive producer Sanaa Hamri recently caught up with Variety, and she hinted that the latter part of season 3 will highlight Andre's plan to end Lucious' life.
"Of course he means it. He is going to kill his father. That's his goal. He wants to kill his father. That's what he's going to try to do for the second half of the season," the EP teased.
When asked if Andre could do it, Hamri said, "I don't know. He may, he may not. That's why people are going to have to watch the show to find out."
As for the Lyons' middle child, Hamri confirmed that the upcoming episodes will see Jamal's new life in rehab and how it will change him as an individual. Although Lucious and Cookie both convinced Jamal to address his addiction problem, Hamri revealed that the Lyon patriarch will continue to butt heads with his son.
"If you watch how Luscious is with Jamal, there are times when he does these things that we think are really bad, but ultimately, in the larger scheme we realize that he's trying to teach his son a lesson," she continued and added, "It's going to get very ugly and very dangerous, especially with Andre in the mix as well. "
The third season of "Empire" returns to the small screen on Wednesday, March 22, at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.