Wednesday, June 10, 2026

“Empire”: Cosby Show’s “Cockroach” Actor to Host Weekly Live Streaming Parties

Share

★ Make Showbiz411 your Preferred Source on Google

Remember Cockroach, Theo’s pal from “The Cosby Show”? Well, he’s been tapped by Lee Daniels’ casting director sister to host weekly streaming “Empire” parties. Carl Payne, who is also the stepfather to Bobby Brown’s oldest son, will anchor the events. Leah Daniels Butler is also looking for on air correspondents to help Payne report in from various cities. I guess the idea is to make watching “Empire” a total social networking event.

Here’s the notice from “Empire” land:

“Empire Wednesday” is seeking on-air correspondents to host an 18 week live stream event from the weekly “Empire” viewing parties  held in cities nationally; created by Henry Butler and hosted by Leah Daniels Butler and Shawn Holiday; Empire Wednesdays began as weekly viewing parties in Los Angeles and Chicago for season one of the #1 television show “Empire”. Expanding the brand for season two, Empire Wednesday will now be held in multiple markets (see below) nationally and linked together via a live stream from each city.  Joining the team for season two, actor Carl Payne will anchor the live stream event.

So far “Empire Wednesday” will emanate from Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Des Moines, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington D.C.

What to do? Post a recent .30 second video on YouTube, email a link of the video to EmpireWednesdayCasting@gmail.com.  Be sure to tag #EmpireWednesday in your YouTube video and then share it on Facebook  and tag “Empire Wednesdays” – with an S. Encourage your friends and followers to view, like, post and re-post your submission.

Donate to Showbiz411.com

Showbiz411 is now in its 13th year of providing breaking and exclusive entertainment news. This is an independent site, unlike the many Hollywood trades that are owned by one company. To continue providing news that takes a fresh look at what's going on in movies, music, theater, etc, advertising is our basis. Reader donations would be greatly appreciated, too. They are just another facet of keeping fact based journalism alive.
Thank you


Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

Read more

In Other News