Phylicia Rashad will make her first appearance on Fox’s “Empire” during this week’s episode, playing Diana Dubois, Taye Diggs’ mother.

Diggs plays a character named Angelo Dubois, who is a city councilman from a respected and affluent New York family. Drawing comparisons to President Barack Obama’s earlier years, Mr. Dubois has a Harvard law degree, as well as a drive to do good in the world, and focuses his energy on community organizing, and local politics.




Rashad, as Diggs’ mother, plays the wealthy Diana Dubois, matriarch of one of New York’s oldest and most prominent African American families. As the mother of ambitious city councilman Angelo Dubois (Diggs), she has her sights set on higher office for her only son, and she’ll stop at nothing to groom him. Diana’s interactions with Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), Lucious (Terrence Howard) and the rest of the Lyon clan will lay bare the stark class divides that can exist, even within the black community.

By the way, the son, Angelo Dubois is a new love interest for Cookie, so expect some (old money) Diana Dubois/(new money) Cookie Lyon drama as the mother likely may not be too pleased with her conservative, traditional, bourgeois son hooking up with the uncompromising, boisterous, “total badass” (as Henson has called her) that is Cookie. But watching the veteran Rashad (who can practically see into your soul with just a stare) and Henson go head-to-head, should be fun for fans of the series.

Rashad is scheduled to appear in at least the next 3 episodes of the series.

Fox has released a clip from this week’s episode, which is titled “What We May Be,” during which Cookie will need to impress Angelo’s mother, among other ongoing storylines in the hit series. And based on this first-look clip, Diana Dubois is already unimpressed with Cookie Lyon.

“Empire” airs on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on Fox.