After having a blockbuster first season, Fox?s hip-hop drama??Empire? is returning for it’s second season with the addition a quite a few high powered celebrities.

[FLASHBACK: Empire Season 1 Finale Draws Sky High Ratings! Was It Everything You Dreamed?]

Director Lee Daniels offered a sneak peek of the first day of shooting and revealed that comedian/actor Chris Rock will be featured in the first episode.

Season 2’s first episode with be a glimpse into Lucious Lyon’s prison time and reportedly Rock will star as someone?from Lyon?s past who is also a prisoner in the same jail.

Both actors were dressed in orange jumpsuits for shooting at Chicago?s Cook County Juvenile Detention Center yesterday and they were also captured in a video snippet, stating:

?My first day was incredible, I worked with the great?Terrence Howard,[and] the great?Lee Daniels,? the??Top Five??director and star said.??Terence punched him in the stomach by accident.?

?I don?t know if it was an accident, he does have a reputation,? Rock joked, touching a little too close to home regarding Howard?s past.

Singer Tank is also shown in a few of the sneak peek photos taken from the set.

Check out photos + video Daniels shared from Empire Season 2’s first day of shooting below…

Chris Rock, Lee Daniels and Terrence Howard share a laugh on set…

Singer Tank (and his muscles) getting direction from Lee…

Lee Daniels poses between two Prison inmates…

EMPIRE also stars Taraji P. Henson, Jussie Smollett, Trai Byers and Bryshere Y. Grey and returns to Fox on September 25th. Other guest stars for Season 2 include Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz.

Are you excited about Empire’s 2nd season?

What do you think about Chris Rock & Tank joining the cast?