Divas in distress
Swan Songs, nailbiters and tearjerkers onscreen and behind the scenes thanks to Nashville’s brush with death.
Like a true country music classic, Nashville (2012-2018, seasons 1-5 can be streamed on Showmax) is always full of drama. Death loomed at the end of season 4 – onscreen and behind the scenes. A month after filming ended on season 4 in April 2016, ABC cancelled the show. The decision came as a shock as the show’s production company Lionsgate had already tapped Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick to take over as showrunners for the fifth season. But Lionsgate had a trick up their sleeves…
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE
The team filmed two versions of the season 4 finale. In one, bad- girl country diva Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) skips the Oscars to fly home to her ex-hubby and daughter. “I arrive at the airport, violins play and I run into their arms,” revealed Hayden. In the other version, her family are at the airport when they get news that the plan signalled distress before falling off the radar. They sent the missing flight cliffhanger version for broadcast and as they launched their campaign to find the show a new home, Lionsgate tweeted: “#Nashies What a cliffhanger! But we won’t leave you hanging. There’s more to be told. #BringBackNashville.”
SURVIVOR
Lionsgate TV chairman Kevin Beggs said, “If we didn’t feel that was going to happen [be picked up], we might have gone a different way. We’re not looking to write ourselves into a corner and wrapping up stories in a somewhat saccharine way is the worst box you can put yourself in. There are more stories to tell.” And as it happened, he was right, with the CMT (Country Music Television) channel snatching the show. Season 5 would begin with Juliette – like Nashville – surviving her brush with death. But Death will not be denied…
GOODBYE RAYNA
Connie Britton, who plays country star Rayna James, reveals that “there was a lot of back and forth over the summer if the show was picked up or wasn’t picked up. It felt like we would be in a good place to talk about me leaving the show during that year off air. We spent a week trying to figure out a way for the character to leave and still be alive, but there’s just no way to do it. She had to die and I’m at peace with that”. Connie added that “it wasn’t a question of money. I think [the length of time] had something to do with it. Actors always want to keep challenging ourselves. There were a lot of reasons. Some were personal and some were creative”. Marshall says that “Connie felt that creatively, she wanted to move on and she was very torn because she loved the show. She loved the people and it was like a family. It wasn’t about money. It was a creative need on her part, which we completely understand and respect.”
THE LONG GOODBYE
Writing Rayna out was no easy matter though. “Rayna would never not be in contact with her family unless she were being held by the Taliban or a plot so absurd nobody would believe. She couldn’t just be on tour. As painful as it was, we killed her.” And when death comes, it’s not in a way viewers expect – she is saved from a hostage situation that could have turned ugly, only to be involved in a car crash just around the corner from home. “The way that death comes out of nowhere to take Rayna appealed to us,” says Callie.
PLANE TRUTH
Equally dramatic was season 5’s first episode, with Juliette the sole survivor of the plane crash. “There was a lot of great stuff to work with. This was rich with potential,” says Marshall. “We’ve watched this woman go through hell and descend into hell. Now she’s gone through a literal hell with this crash and that would have a profound effect on anybody.” Hayden adds, “The direction Juliette chooses, I was shocked. Fans will be to. It opens a door for her and she discovers this part of herself that is undiscovered… Something awakens inside of her that is so un-Juliette.”