Rumours are circulating that the upcoming fifth season of Nashville will be the last for its leading lady Connie Britton.
In a rather bizarre twist of events, Britton is believed to have signed on for only 10 of the 22 episodes of the new season to reprise her character Rayna James. TVLine and EW.com have both reported on the news claiming that sources have given them the inside scoop.
At this time the news hasn’t been confirmed by CMT or Lionsgate, who make the show, but it’s worrying for Nashville fans. When the show was dropped by ABC earlier this year, speculation was rife that Britton would not be part of the show if a new network was found. That proved to be wrong so we’re keeping everything crossed that the latest rumours are nothing more than speculation.
It’s hard to see how the show could continue without Britton, especially as Charles Esten, Lennon Stella and Maisy Stella are all signed on for 22 episodes. Short of killing her off, we don’t see how Rayna’s kids could still be part of the show if their mother left.
CMT just announced that Nashville would debut with a two-hour premiere on 5th January 2017, a little later than had been reported by other news outlets in the past week.
What do you think of this latest twist? Could Nashville survive without Rayna James?
