Nashville (season 3)


The third season of the American television musical drama series Nashville, created by Callie Khouri, began on September 24, 2014, on ABC. The show features an ensemble cast with Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere in the leading roles as two country music superstars, Rayna Jaymes and Juliette Barnes.
The episodes are named after country songs from a variety of artists, like Webb Pierce, Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn.

Production

On May 9, 2014, Nashville was renewed for a third season by ABC. The series was renewed after prolonged negotiations for a full 22-episode season. This season will receive a combined $8 million incentive package from the state of Tennessee, Metro Nashville and other local groups, lower than the Season 2 incentives — which totaled $13.25 million. On March 11, 2014, before the show was renewed, it was announced that Oliver Hudson and Will Chase are being promoted to regulars for season three, contingent on the ABC series getting a renewal. The series creator and executive producer later said that "a lot of our characters may not be in every episode this year".
On July 30, 2014, it was announced that Tony Award winner Laura Benanti was cast in the recurring role of country star Sadie Stone who is Rayna's friend. On August 1, 2014, it was announced that the first episode of the season will be aired live, and will consist of musical performances broadcast directly from the Bluebird Café. This will be the first time in TV history that a scripted drama has attempted this musical feat. On August 11, 2014, it was announced that actress-singer Brette Taylor joined the cast in a major recurring role as Pam, Luke’s sultry, extroverted new backup singer, and Alexa PenaVega also was cast for a multi-episode arc as Kiley, Gunnar’s first love and who is now a single mother. On August 14, 2014, it was announced that the Emmy Award Winning dancer Derek Hough, would also join the cast for a multi-episode arc as Noah West. On the same day, it was announced that Judith Hoag will be leaving the show after the second episode, but may return later. On September 12, 2014, it was announced that Mykelti Williamson was cast in a four-episode arc as musician who, after personal tragedy, lives as a nomad on the streets of Nashville. On October 27, 2014, it was announced that Moniqua Plante also was cast for a multiple-episode arc as Natasha, a woman, who "expected to provide some jaw-dropping twists for Teddy". Country singer Sara Evans joined the cast as a fictionalized version of herself. She had guest starring role in the episode dated October 29, 2014 and set to possible recurring return later with major story arc. On January 23, 2015, it was announced that Kyle Dean Massey joined the cast in a recurring role as openly gay country music singer-songwriter Kevin Bicks. Christina Aguilera later was cast as a pop superstar Jade St. John for a multi-episode arc.
Filming for season three ended on April 17, 2015.

Cast

Regular

U.S. ratings