It's been my favorite since the very first episode aired last year, introducing the dueling leads: Rayna James, the reigning Queen of Country Music and Juliette Barnes, the tween sensation hit machine who wants to be taken seriously.
It's Dallas with music and I love it through and through.
Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere play Rayna and Juliette with depth and commitment. I knew how good Connie could be: loved her as Tammy Taylor in Friday Night Lights. Rayna James is no Coach's Wife. Oh, her veneer is all sweetness and light but Rayna didn't rise to the top of the country charts and stay there for decades without being ruthless, manipulative and not above sleeping her way into a hit song. In the pilot, we're introduced to her happy, all American family but by midseason we learn that its mostly fake and the closets are stuffed with skeletons that pop out singing and dancing.
Juliette Barnes is the funnest train wreck I've watched in years. This escapee from the trailer park unpacks a bag that includes her drug addicted Mom, the belief that sex is love and an insecurity about her own talent that is stoked by the unfortunate timing of always overhearing industry insiders disparage her latest multi platinum product. Plus, the girl can't get out of her own way. If she isn't being caught on video shop lifting nail polish, she's caught on video insulting her religious fan base. I was familiar with Hayden Panettiere when she was the Cheerleader on Heroes but I had no idea she had Juliette Barnes up her sleeve. Juliette is as much fun to watch as JR Ewing and the rest of his clan, combined, ever were.
There's a whole slew of secondary characters who are also great fun to watch. There are all the men who are in love with Rayna: her husband, her former writing partner, her producer, the Biggest Star in Country Music...basically every male who ever meets her. She sleeps with all of them at one time or another.
There's Rayna's father and sister who are extremely successful and powerful business leaders in Nashville; they run the town and get Rayna's husband elected mayor.
There are several young characters who have little to do with Rayna or Juliette at the beginning: the young balladeer who sells his soul only to sacrifice everything to gain it back; The song writing duo who can't help falling in love; the Ubertalented waitress who becomes a star without even trying; the songwriter who pens hits for everyone else but can't get a record deal for himself, the ambitious heart throb with a secret (he's gay)...I love them all.
And every episode features at least two songs. The music is all in context; either in a concert setting or recording studio or jam sessions. So far, no one has broken out in song while walking down the street but I live in constant anticipation of such a number. The songs themselves propel the plots and character development as surely as any number in Hairspray does. When Rayna sings 'Buried Under', we know exactly what is crushing her. My favorite song of Juliette's is called 'Nothing in This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again'. The industry sneers "You're 21, what do you know about heartbreak?"
The song is about her mother's suicide.
Juliette gets no respect, ever.
Her record sales compel an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry but two minutes after she gets invited, she overhears other artists refer to her as a flash in the pan. The night of her induction, all her lightening is stolen when Rayna (long story) discovers Her Voice is Back!
I love it.