Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson (Photo: FOX via Getty Images)

Taraji P. Henson is trading in Cookie Lyon’s ostentatious furs for faded marabou. Today, NBC announced that the Empire star will play boozy orphanage matron Miss Hannigan in its holiday broadcast of Annie Live! We can already see her tottering around in kitten heels, sloshing a martini while slurring her way through “Little Girls.”

“Watching her take on this iconic role will be a thrill that has all the makings of must-watch television,” NBCUniversal Television and Streaming’s Chairman of Entertainment Content Susan Rovner said in a statement. And we couldn’t agree more.

In the 1977 musical, the famously nasty Miss Hannigan runs the dilapidated orphanage where Annie and her orphan pals initially spend their hard knock lives. Over the years, the role has been played in various stage revivals by the likes of Kathie Lee Gifford, Jane Lynch and Miranda Hart. Cameron Diaz played a version of the character in the 2014 film version, which set the musical in the present day. But the version of Miss Hannigan that is probably best remembered is Carol Burnett’s from the Oscar-nominated 1982 film adaptation.

“Carol Burnett, who brought Miss Hannigan to life in the classic 1982 movie, is someone I have studied and idolized as far back as I can remember,” Henson said in a statement. “So when the opportunity came to me to join NBC and this incredible group of producers, I jumped! Carol, I hope to do you proud!”

Along with Henson’s casting, NBC also announce the start of a nationwide search for an undiscovered talent to play Annie herself. Auditions will be held virtually and will be open to young actors of any ethnicity.

In recent years, broadcast networks have invested big in live musical specials, with NBC airing productions of The Sound of Music, The Wiz and Hairspray in a bid to lure viewers away from streaming services. Annie will air live on December 2, and will be NBC’s first live musical event since 2019’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.