“Scarlett, it’s just a song.” “Singing that song makes me want to slap the living hell out of you!”
Oh, yes, my friends. It’s that time again. Nashville‘s fifth season looms, and today the show’s new network, CMT, released its first, emotionally climactic trailer. The first half brings us up to speed on the last season, which ended with a cliffhanger as Avery (Jonathan Jackson) learns that a plane carrying mother of his child, Juliette (Hayden Panettiere), has gone missing.
The Season 4 finale — which also saw will-they-won’t-they couple Rayna (Connie Britton) and Deacon (Charles Esten) finally tie the knot — looked like it might be the end of the series altogether when ABC pulled the plug. But then CMT swooped in and picked it up for a fifth season, which viewers can get a sneak peek at on Dec. 15 at 9 p.m., ahead of Nashville‘s official Season 5, two-hour premiere on Jan. 5. (CMT will air the first hour on Dec. 15; you can also watch it on Hulu the next day.)
Season 5 promises more of Nashville‘s signature blend of country-inflected melodrama. In the trailer, Rayna tells Deacon, “I want us to write our story” — will the couple make an album together? Their daughter, Maddie (Lennon Stella) has a new love interest (who has dreads and a nose ring!), and Rayna wants Scarlett (Clare Bowen) and Gunnar (Sam Palladio) to release another single. Scarlett confessed her love for Gunnar in the Season 4 finale, and the two shared a kiss onstage, but the trailer suggests these two aren’t quite happily-ever-after yet. Finally, the trailer ends with an ominous shot of a sweaty Juliette panicking on a turbulent plane. Get ready to welcome this guiltiest of pleasures back into your life.