Her record label suggests that she open for Juliette Barnes, the young and beautiful best-selling singer of bubble gum country pop.

Rayna's life is further complicated when her estranged father, millionaire businessman Lamar Wyatt, convinces her husband, Teddy Conrad, to run for Mayor of Nashville.

For the first season, nine actors received star billing: Connie Britton as Rayna Jaymes, a 40-year-old country music superstar singer whose stardom is beginning to fade; Hayden Panettiere as Juliette Barnes, a bubblegum country pop singer and former teen star sensation who is determined to replace Rayna as the top superstar of country music; Clare Bowen as Scarlett O'Connor, a poet and songwriter Deacon's niece, and musician partner with Gunnar who works at the Bluebird Cafe which is where she is first noticed and performs; Eric Close as Theodore "Teddy" Conrad, Rayna's husband who, after a business failure, is now living on his wife's income.

He and Scarlett are in a relationship when the series begins, but soon separate; Sam Palladio as Gunnar Scott, a kind-hearted aspiring musician who dates Scarlett in season one, and dates Zoey in season two; Robert Wisdom as Coleman Carlisle, a one-time mayoral candidate, and later Deputy Mayor, close friend of Rayna, and serves as Deacon's sobriety sponsor; and Powers Boothe as Lamar Wyatt, Rayna's father and a wealthy, powerful and controlling patriarch and local politician who disapproves of his daughter's career as a country singer.

Bilson plays Alyssa Greene, a Silicon Valley marketing expert brought in to take Highway 65 to the next level, who hates country music.

Nordling plays Brad Maitland, the charming and narcissistic owner of the most successful record label in Nashville, and Jessie's ex-husband who is up to no good.

Also appearing in many episodes are several background characters, including Ed Amatrudo as Glenn Goodman, Juliette Barnes's protective manager and father-figure, often tasked with cleaning up the messes that Juliette leaves behind; David Alford as Bucky Dawes, Rayna's long-time seasoned and caring manager; Todd Truly as Marshall Evans (season 1; 11 episodes), former president and CEO of Edgehill Republic Records.

Joseph David-Jones as Clay, Maddie's boyfriend and musician, Christian Coulson as a music video director, and the father of Scarlett's baby, all joined the cast in major recurring roles.

Cameron Scoggins, a wealthy tech-entrepreneur who helps Rayna out with struggling Highway 65, was originally cast in a recurring role, but was upgraded to a series regular and made guest appearances in season six.

Josh Stamberg played Darius, an extremely charismatic founder of a self-actualization movement that has transformed many lives that Juliette joins upon suffering from depression.

Jake Etheridge played Sean, a recent military veteran suffering from severe PTSD who has yet to embrace his talent and passion for music.

Rainee Blake played Alannah, who is a newcomer to the Nashville music scene, and a beautiful singer-songwriter who starts out as a backup singer but will soon be discovered for the star that she actually is meant to be when she joins the boys' band.

Nic Luken played Jonah Ford, a famous male pop star who is very handsome, extremely confident, and charming and who catches Maddie's attention.

Cox played Gideon, a crusty, frustrated, would-be musician and recently reformed lifelong alcoholic who resented his son Deacon's success.

"[18] Nashville was the first television series in Khouri's career, after working for two decades as a film writer and director creating strong female characters.

[25][26] On November 12, 2012, the series was picked up for a full season run,[27] which was shortened by one episode by the producers (due to production difficulties) rather than the network.

[20] ABC's promotional campaign for the series premiere was primarily focused on the rivalry between a young and ruthless country pop diva (Panettiere) and a past-her-peak superstar (Britton).

The Bluebird Cafe, an important local performance arena, is a frequent setting; the show's art department, headed by production designer Jeff Knipp, precisely replicated its exterior and interior in a Nashville sound stage.

[39] On February 29, it was announced that Hayden Panettiere had landed the role of Juliette Barnes, originally planned as the primary antagonist of the series.

[47] Britton stated that her character, Rayna was based on several country singers, including Faith Hill, Reba McEntire, and Bonnie Raitt.

[48] Panettiere denied that her character resembled Taylor Swift,[48] and stated that Juliette was instead based on herself—a young woman in the entertainment industry—and Carrie Underwood.

[53] JD Souther, Rya Kihlstedt, Tilky Montgomery Jones, Wyclef Jean, Susan Misner and Michiel Huisman also had major recurring roles during the first season.

Despite the title, it omits three of Connie Britton's songs ("Already Gone," "American Beauty" and "Stompin' Grounds") as well as Sam Palladio and David Clayton Rogers' cover of "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive."

[87] One of the most intriguing features of this album was Charles Esten's songwriting debut with Deana Carter on "I Know How To Love You Now" which he performed live during the season three premiere.

[128] The consensus on the site reads "Nashville promotes catchy pop-western tunes and plays to non-fans of the genre with its sharp atmosphere and its stellar narratives."

Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin gave the season a B+, and stated "In the end, Nashville remained true to its central love story.

TV gave a positive review, and wrote "When you combine this bubbly soap opera material with amusingly lively scenes of Will, Avery, and Gunnar getting together to form the band you didn't know you'd always wanted, Nashville seems to be going out with an enjoyable blast.

The pilot episode received critical acclaim,[129] specifically praising Callie Khouri's writing, casting, and the performances of Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere.

[203] Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation, claimed that the show was a "huge [...] marketing asset, has put an important spotlight on our songwriter community and the cast members have been incredible advocates for [the city] as well".

[208] Several of the series' cast members, including Clare Bowen, Sam Palladio, and Jonathan Jackson reunited for the CMT documentary film Bluebird.