Rapper Ludacris has signed on to the drama TV series "Empire' for a recurring role as the "Furious 7' star posted a photo on his Instagram account, teasing his role in the hip-hop drama's second season.
The post showed the actor in a prison guard uniform posing with "Empire' lead Terrence Howard, who was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. Howard's character, hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon, was arrested during the finale of the show's first season.
"This could get interesting"¦." Ludacris wrote for the photo's caption, adding the hashtag "#empireseason2."
As his nameplate shows on the photo, Ludacris's character's name will be McKnight.
Fox has already confirmed that the rapper will appear as a guest star on one or more episodes of "Empire' season two, taking on the role of a diligent correctional officer and veteran of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. His character believes that celebrity inmates should be treated just the same as the regular criminals, including Lucious Lyon.
As such, Officer McKnight is expected to be an antagonist for Howard's character.
With Ludacris signing on to Fox's hit series, this will be a reunion for him and Howard as they both made an appearance in 2005's "Hustle & Flow,' where Howard portrayed a determined rapper aiming to get the attention of Ludacris.
"Empire' has even been deemed as a "Hustle & Flow' sequel as it offers a look at what could have happened to the movie's characters after all these years.
Meanwhile, Ludacris is only one of the celebrities that have signed on to "Empire' for its second season. It is also known that Oprah Winfrey and Common are set to make special appearances.
Even Lenny Kravitz, and Chris Rock will be taking on special roles while Denzel Washington is reportedly being persuaded to sign on to the hit series.
During the series' first run, Snoop Dogg, Courtney Love and Gladys Knight were among the stars that were featured.
All in all, the first season of "Empire' had become one of the few programs that consistently brought on increased ratings week after week. The drama program soared to the top of the list of broadcast entertainment series in 18-49. It eventually finished with the highest average for all broadcast drama shows since ABC released "Desperate Housewives' and "Grey's Anatomy.'
Season 2 of "Empire' has been set for an official premiere on September 23 on FOX.
