Country music drama Nashville concluded its second season this week in the UK but fear not itāll be back for a third season in the autumn in the US and early 2015 (TBC) in the UK.
If you havenāt seen season two of Nashville and donāt want any spoilers then we suggest you stop reading now. If you have seen it then keep on reading for our thoughts on the third season.
In the season two finale Rayna (Connie Britton) got very publicly engaged to Luke Wheeler (Will Chase) whilst Maddie (Lennon Stella) and Deacon (Charles Esten) looked on. Deacon made a last-ditch attempt to win Rayna back but was it too little too late?
Elsewhere Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) saw her world fall down around her when Avery (Jonathan Jackson) found out about her fling with Jeff (Oliver Hudson), Scarlett (Clare Bowen) may have decided to stay in Nashville and Will (Chris Carmack) told Layla (Aubrey Peeples) ā and the world accidentally ā that he was gay.
Whilst we patiently wait for season three to arrive, weāve put together our top 10 things we want to see when the show returns.
1. Rayna and Deacon to rebuild their relationship and fall in love all over again. Ok so itās clear both characters have feelings for each other but theyāve got so much baggage that being together has been too difficult. We predict that Rayna will start the season engaged to Will but we think an affair with Deacon could be on the cards.
2. Juliette to stop sabotaging herself. Seriously, every time Juliette gets a piece of happy she ruins it by doing something stupid. We like Juliette with Avery so we want those two to work things out. A potential spanner in the works could be Juliettteās pregnancy (Hayden Panettiere is pregnant and itās rumoured heavily that her pregnancy will be written in to the show) but we have our fingers and toes crossed that the baby isnāt Jeffās.
3. Scarlett and Gunnar (Sam Palladio) to start writing and performing together again. We really missed the two characters working together in season 2. Weāre not so bothered about the romance aspect of their relationship but thereās magic when the two sing together. It looked like Gunnar had convinced Scarlett to stay in Nashville in the season two finale so we canāt wait to see where their relationship goes next.
4. Willās tough time getting tougher. Chris Carmack is a fantastic actor and heās played Willās sexuality struggle incredibly. Now his secret is out to a stunned Layla (and the world) we predict a very rocky road for Will in season 3. Not only is he going to have to deal with being out in an industry that isnāt all that accepting of homosexuality, but we predict that his record deal with Edgehill is going to be in jeopardy too as Jeff already warned him that his sexuality is problematic for the label.
5. Zoey (Chaley Rose) and Layla to get more to do. Zoey got a better deal than Layla in season two but thereās still a lot to learn about both characters. Whilst Zoey found her independence and got a job as Julietteās backing singer, Layla fell from grace and became a whiney housewife. Season 3 better have big plans for these two as we love them and their songs!
6. More collaborations with Rayna and Juliette. We love the rare moments that the two women perform together so weāre hoping for some more of those in season 3. We also like it when the two work together rather than against each other like they did to get one over on Jeff. Could they finally become friends next season?
7. Maddie and Daphne to pursue their musical dreams. Itās pretty clear that Raynaās kids are talented and Maddie particularly has expressed her desire to go into music following in the footsteps of her parents. We want to see more performances from the two and the foundations for their future careers in music.
8. Avery, Gunnar and Zoey to re-visit their band. The storyline seemingly came and went within a couple of episodes but thereās no doubt the three had strong chemistry. I Aināt Leavinā Without Your Love is one of the best songs from the second season so hopefully the trio will be resurrected in season 3.
9. Jeff to truly get his comeuppance. Whilst we love Oliver Hudsonās performance, we really hope Jeffās downfall isnāt too far away. After losing Rayna and Juliette from Edgehill and being turned down by Gunnar how does Jeff even still have a job? Weād be happy to see the smarmy music boss have a tough time and a very public downfall.
10. More music! Ok we know this one goes without saying but the music is the strongest part of Nashville. The variety is amazing and the mixture of voices on the show is fantastic. More songs like Donāt Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet and A Life Thatās Good please!
Nashville will return in the US to ABC this autumn and in the UK early 2015 to More4 (TBC).