Nashville is more than just Tennessee's capital. For the last 5 years, it's been the title of one of the most popular primetime television shows. Nashville follows the lives of two singers, veteran Rayna James (Connie Britton) and newcomer Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere). The former is trying to regain control of her label and singing career, while the latter is attempting to salvage her marriage and get her daughter back. The show is still going strong into it's fifth season, so in honor of that, here are 5 reasons you should watch Nashville.
1. The characters.
In Rayna's life there's new husband Deacon Claybourne (Charles Esten), daughters Maddie and Daphne (Lennon & Maisy Stella) and ex-husband Teddy (Eric Close). Juliette has ex-husband Avery (Jonathan Jackson) and her daughter Cadence. The other characters include: couple and bandmates Scarlett and Gunnar (Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio, respectively), and up-and-coming crooner Will Lexington (Chris Carmack).
2. The music.
Even if you're not a country music fan, there's been elements of other genres infused on the show. There's been rock and roll courtesy of Avery's band, a pop vibe in Juliette's older music, and an earthy-indie aspect in the artists that Rayna has signed. If you're into rock check out: "Twist of Barbwire", for pop listen to: "Telescope" and if you're into indie look at: "In The Name of Your Love."
3. The relationships.
There's Rayna and Deacon – they've loved each other from the very beginning and you could feel their chemistry come through in the first episode when they sang together. Even when they were with other people (Rayna with Teddy) or had other problems (Deacon dealing with his alcoholism), they were there for each other. Then you've got Scarlett and Gunnar who connected via songwriting and you saw their ups and downs as a couple and as they were apart. And of course you can't forget about Avery and Juliette, who's bond went from "just friends" to "just married" at a slow-burn kind of pace.
4. The drama.
There's been bar fights, a shooting, tabloid scandals, a suicide attempt, an accidental death and sabotage inside the industry. You never really see it coming, and it never seems too "out of place." Plus, the unique thing about this show is that they show how the events affects everyone, and not just the immediate character(s).
5. The town.
Yes, the show does actually film in Nashville which is pretty cool if you ask me. There are featured places on the show, like the Bluebird Cafe and the Ryman auditorium for the Grand Ole Opry. It's the perfect backdrop for the nice moments and it gives the more major ones some grit.
Be sure to tune into Nashville's Season 5 premiere on CMT on January 5 at 9PM. It will continue airing Thursdays on CMT and you can catch up on the four other seasons on Hulu.
