Nashville Season One Review – Drama Galore

If you enjoy twists and turns of a police drama and a sexy soap with all the fun of the country music business, then you should be watching Nashville on ABC.  The show wrapped its first season last night and it's been announced they're back for a second in the fall.  That's good because what a cliff hanger...or hangers actually.

A short synopsis for those who didn't get to see all of Season one:

Rayna James - a successful female country artist, who is looking to find relevance in the business today.  She has two young girls, and her husband of 13 years, Teddy has just been elected mayor with the help of Rayna's power-hungry and rich father.  She is forced to team up with her record label's young, hot star on tour to re-energize her career.

Juliette Barnes - The new star on the block.  Young, hot, and sorta-talented.  She's got the Nashville marketing machine behind her, and established stars like Rayna James are not impressed.  Juliette's problem is that she's a...well, she's not really nice, and she is a...well, let's say liberal with her love.  Many of her problems stem from her mother who pretty much abandoned her for drugs at an early age and tries to reconnect throughout the season.

Deacon Claybourne - The coulda-been-a-star, that let drinking stand in his way.  Deacon was involved with Rayna professionally and personally before his alcoholism got in the way and Rayna found Teddy.  13 years sober, he worked as Rayna's band leader, then Juliette's band leader.  He's had indiscretions with both, and another non-music-business girlfriend leading to the season finale, where he seems to be in a very tough situation, with multiple issues from his past coming back.

Scarlet, Gunner, Avery - The side characters that were involved in a love triangle and music triangle all through season one.  Scarlet is Deacon's niece.  She wasn't an aspiring singer until Gunner encouraged it.  That made her boyfriend, Avery jealous as he was an aspiring singer.  Gunner and Scarlet began singing together, while Avery got a record deal.  Avery broke his deal, and then Scarlet and Gunner started dating.  They were set to get a record deal, but Gunner missed the audition and Scarlet got the deal on her own.  Avery started to work as a roadie for Juliette, and even made out with her.  Gunner was on the verge of his own deal using his dead brother's songs, but then fessed up to it, but got arrested for fighting and dumped by Scarlet, who then goes to sing with Avery, but then get proposed to by Gunner.  Got that?

Anyway, I loved this season, but the drama could slow down a bit.  There's so much going on, that it's hard to remember what happened sometimes.  For example, in the last two episodes of the season we saw:

- A sex-tape scandal

- Blackmail

- A Murder-Suicide

- A paternity reveal

- An arrest

- A breakup

- A reunion

- An alcoholic falling off the wagon

- A brawl at the state capital

- A homosexual cover-up

- A proposal

- An audit of a high-profile loan scandal

- A pregnancy bombshell

- A horrible car wreck

All this set to the backdrop of the CMA Award Show.  Now that's drama, and I can't wait til season two.  The one thing that's not that great from the show, and it's surprising, is the music.  Scarlet and Gunner do some cool stuff, but the most entertaining performance came from Rayna's young daughters, played by Lennon and Maisy Stella.