Empire episodes 11 and 12: Producer discusses season finale; Mariah Carey, Kanye West on season 2 guest star wishlist

Empire co-creator and executive producer Danny Strong recently revealed some exciting new updates on the show's two-hour season finale and spoke about the hit musical drama's huge success.

"It's a very explosive finale, not surprising," Strong stated during a media conference call on 12 March. "Many things go down and many things get resolved. Alliances will shift and yet it may or may not be completely resolved by the time it's over." (via Deadline)

Deadline also reports that Snoop Dogg and Patti LaBelle are among the guest stars set to appear in the finale episode.

With regards to Empire's super ratings, Strong puts the emphasis on the audience – both their reaction and demographics: "I think at the end of the day it is good old word of mouth," he said. He also believes that a big part of that success has been in "serving an audience that has been grossly unrepresented in TV for several years – that is the African American audience."

The show has also been renewed for a second season but Strong said that the team is yet to start work on season 2:

"We are just starting to talk about Season 2 now," he said, noting there would be more of the storytelling that has made Empire a success so far, states the Deadline report. "I have no clue yet of what we're doing right now."

Strong also hinted towards a short season 2: "It hasn't been decided but I don't think 22 is the discussion," he revealed talking about the number of episodes the team is looking at for the next season.

Meanwhile, during a screening of the first hour of the Empire season 1 finale and a Q&A with the cast on Thursday in Los Angeles, actor Jussie Smollett – who plays Jamal Lyon on the show - shared his season 2 guest-star wish list. (via Variety)

"I would love for Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Kanye West," he said. "And Brandy, because how much do we love Brandy? Come on."