Nashville '16-'17: Where Are We Going?

From Change.org E-mail

     As much as I hate to see T.V. shows end, I hate it even more when they end without a valid wrap-up of their story lines, like The Mindy Project. This also was the case with ABC's Nashville. It came down to the last two cancellation-doomed episodes for fans to put out a public outcry to give the show a 5th season. In the last week, I joined almost 175,000 fans in signing a change.org petition to bring the show back. That's got to be at least a good chunk of their average viewership. Rest easy, Tennessee Titans, the show will be coming back for a season 5! The show's Lionsgate production company has cemented a deal with Country Music Television (CMT) for a new season. If you don't have CMT (like me), you can catch episodes the next day on Hulu, which is the new home of The Mindy Project (since FOX gave it the boot last season). The best news of all is that the show has been ordered for 22 full episodes for the season. Keep in mind, that's 22 episodes for a show that does not film in L.A. and it's gone from a network budget to a cable budget. I see big changes ahead!

 

Downtown Nashville (c)PipPepPop

   The 22 episodes will give us enough berth to get things in Nashville back to normal. But the new questions becomes, what is normal? With so many plots, actors, and guest stars, something may have to give. We left off season 4 with some major resolutions. Finally, Rayna and Deacon reunited with their angsty, emancipated teen daughter, Maddie. Then, the on-again, off-again band "The Exes", Gunnar and Scarlett shared a kiss while performing, and Will became a crusader for gay rights while patching things up with his ex, Kevin. Even Luke Wheeler, who has had a rough time these few years (his teen son joining the army, his daughter running off to boarding school, Rayna leaving him at the altar, and almost going bankrupt), managed to make a positive change in the country community and reach out to his ex-wife. Justly deserved, the wicked ingenue Layala was left all alone as her record exploded on the charts. Her desperate attempts to ruin Juliet's life blew up as Juliet opened up to the press about her struggles with suicide, depression, marriage troubles and her manege'rs resulting accidental death. Win for Juliet as she reconciled with her manager Glenn and rushed home to meet estranged husband Avery and their baby, Cadence. Where are we headed now? It's definitely a shocker!

     It's time to find out if Juliet's plane has crashed! The last scene showed Avery at the airstrip, receiving news that Juliet's jet lost contact with air traffic control. This plays heavily into the plans for season 5. Hayden Panettiere (Juliet) missed about 1/4 of the last season as she recovered from postpartum depression. The good news is that both Panettiere and Connie Britton (Rayna) have confirmed they will be back for the next season. With new showrunners moving into place, I'm hoping for a season that drags less. I felt that Luke didn't have much to go on this season, and at the same time Will was stuck in the same story lines over and over again. With tighter budgets looming, I hope to see some fresh stories. If there's one thign for sure, I can guarantee that all this hype will bring a 2017 Stars of Nashville tour. With Rayna and Juliet now longtime friends instead of  the warring divas they began the show as, I hope we can focus on the music again.