On March 9, 2013 the cast and creators of ABC’s hit show, Nashville, gathered in Beverly Hills for their first visit to Paley Fest. Couldn’t be there? Don’t worry, just throw on your Nashville soundtrack, relax, and check out the top 10 things you missed below!
10. Everyone loves T-Bone Burnett. Seriously, everyone. Chip Esten, Connie Britton, and Hayden Panettiere all stated that he’s helped them find their characters’ voices and is a source of comfort for them in the recording studio.
9. Chip Esten is a Friday Night Lights fan. “”There are a thousand reasons I want to do this and you are a couple hundred of them” – Chip to Connie about why he was so excited to land a role on Nashville. Clear eyes, full hearts…
8. Connie Britton’s hair has a great reputation. This isn’t exactly new information to those of us who love Britton from FNL, but who knew Callie Khouri was on this bandwagon with us?! “I wanted Connie from the beginning. I had no idea if she could sing or not but I knew she had the hair!” [Ed. Note: Both Sarah and Alix agree that #1-#10 of this list should really have been all about Connie Britton's flawless hair.]
7. Sam Palladio knows how to tap dance. Palladio let slip that his mother put him in tap dance (and singing) lessons as a child. Money well spent, Mrs. Palladio! Also, Nashville was his first audition for an American TV show (A fact that Alix learned in her Q&A with Palladio back in January. If you missed it the first time around, go back and check it out. There’s some great stuff in there!)
6. The show has been embraced by the music community. Callie Khouri and the rest of the cast all shared stories about how the community in Nashville have been so supportive of the show and appreciative of how accurate their portrayal is. Jason Aldean even stopped Chip Esten in the airport to tell him he likes the show.
5. Scarlett/Gunnar: Romance? Record deal? Clare Bowen shares that Gunnar is completely broken after learning about the death of his brother, but that Scarlett isn’t the type to walk away. On the professional side, a fan asks when Rayna and Juliette are going to start fighting over who gets to sign Scarlett and Gunnar. Connie: “As far as I know, Juliette doesn’t have a label!”
4. The carcasses of Juliette’s failed relationships. Hayden shared that Jay Hernandez (who plays Dante) refers to Juliette’s old boyfriends as carcasses. And guess what? It looks like there’s gonna be a new body added to the pile. Juliette’s getting another love interest!
3. Concert tour? Esten lets slip that there have been discussions about a potential concert tour, but nothing is set in stone.
2. Will Rayna and Deacon happen?? Esten believes that Rayna is “the one” for Deacon, but reminds us that that doesn’t mean it’s going to work out well for the two of them.
1. SPOILERS. Those in attendance were lucky enough to see the first 5 minutes of the next new episode. Deacon sings to his new puppy, there’s some fallout from Scarlett/Gunnar’s hook up, and Rayna takes a step forward in her life.
Be sure to check out the full panel on Hulu!
