Nashville

This calls for a celebration! ABC has given freshman series Nashville a full-season order. The soapy primetime show starring Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton as two sparring country divas has been one of the most well-reviewed new series of 2012, earning praise in particular for its slate of original music. The renewal should come as no surprise to TV fans, as it has been very successful with viewers in its Wednesday night time slot, even beating out veteran ratings winner CSI, which airs at the same time. Have you been watching Nashville? Are you excited to see more of Rayna and Juliette?

Musical TV series are all the rage right now, so it's no surprise that ABC is getting in on the action with new series Nashville. The drama stars TV veterans Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere as a pair of singers that butt heads when their record label tries to bring them together, while also giving us a peek at what happens behind the scenes of the country music industry. Read up before the show premieres on Thursday.

• What it's about: Set in the country music capital, Nashville follows a handful of musicians (and their connections) as they struggle to make it (or just stay afloat) in the industry. Britton leads the pack as Rayna James, an aging superstar who's losing fans to younger, sexier singers like bratty Juliette Barnes (Panettiere). As Rayna struggles to keep her family and career intact, Juliette's wrestling with her own demons and family issues, and we learn that she's really just a kid beneath her sassy exterior.
• Where it works: If you're a fan of American Horror Story or Friday Night Lights, you know what a joy it is to see Britton in action. She's a perfect fit for Rayna, whom you root for but never pity, even when her manager tries to force her to tour with Juliette to sell records. To that point, Panettiere is well cast as Rayna's biggest threat, and the tension between the two is fun to watch. The music is also woven in pretty seamlessly, which is a refreshing change from shows like Glee and Smash.
• Where it doesn't: We're introduced to a lot of characters in the pilot (which isn't a bad thing), but a lot of the guys look the same, and as silly as it sounds, it made it difficult to keep all the story lines straight. There's also a political story line involving Rayna's father and husband, which felt like an unnecessary (and frankly, boring) subplot.
• When it's on: Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC
• You might like this show if: You thought Country Strong would work better as a TV show than a movie.

To watch a preview and see pictures of Nashville, just read more

Following the success of musical shows like Glee and Smash, ABC is honing in on the country music scene with new series Nashville. Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere headline the drama as a pair of competing country singers, and the actresses came out to the TCA to talk about the show, along with the rest of the huge cast and producers. Britton and Panettiere talked about their singing voices, getting catty on the small screen, and whether or not their characters are based on real country stars. Here are highlights:

• There's been speculation that Britton's character, Rayna, is based on Reba McEntire, while Panettiere's Juliette is modeled after Taylor Swift, but the actresses were quick to deny those rumors. Britton mentioned that her character is more of an amalgam of many different people, while Panettiere said that the only thing Juliette and Taylor have in common is their age and hair color. She added, "I really think Taylor would disagree wholeheartedly with that [the comparisons], too. She's much nicer than my character."
• Country music is obviously at the forefront of Nashville, but you don't need to be a huge fan of the genre to enjoy the show. The producers mentioned that there will be different types of music featured on the show, including pop and gospel. They added that there will be original music as well as familiar tunes (Elvis Costello was specifically mentioned), but don't expect to see too many cameos from big names in the country industry.
• The producers talked about audiences being "hungry for really great music," but also pointed out that Nashville isn't solely focused on the music industry; there's drama, there's family, there's politics, and the showrunners are hoping the series will be a "thrill ride" that's "really, really exciting to watch."
• Panettiere has put out an album before, so she was particularly excited to show off her pipes on the show, especially since she vowed never to return to music unless she was doing country. On the other hand, Britton was self-deprecating about her own voice, saying, "I've sung my whole life, but not really that professionally. Not professionally at all." She also joked that training her voice has been a "journey," while praising the vocal talent of the rest of the cast and calling Panettiere a "legitimately great singer."

To see more from the panel, including Britton's thoughts on Friday Night Lights and American Horror Story, just read more