ABC's Nashville, As Evaluated by a Nashvillian

By Joseph Barry on November 1, 2012

ABC’s television show Nashville has been on TV for about a month, and as a Nashvillian I have very mixed thoughts about the entire show. Upon watching the first three episodes, I couldn’t decide if I was watching Nashville because it had good acting, because it had an enticing storyline, or simply because it filled the holes of homesickness.

My impression of the storyline is that it is very enticing with more conflict between characters than the 2012 presidential debates. However, the director and screenwriters have managed to make both protagonists about as unlikable as Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter. I feel like Juliette Barnes (played by Hayden Panettiere) comes across as too spoiled, which I understand; it is her goal to rise and overtake Rayna Jaymes (played by Connie Britton) as the queen of country music. However, Rayna also comes across as too self-absorbed in her career to have time for her family, and only thinks about herself without regards to others. I feel like I have to constantly assess both of them, trying to pick the lesser of two evils.

The Cast of ABC’s Nashville outside of the famous Ryman Auditorium; photo from hollywoodreporter.com

Then there’s the actual portrayal of Nashville. I applaud them for actually filming in the city of Nashville instead of taking it to LA like many other shows. But the initial thought that popped into my brain during the first scene of the first episode was “Please tell me we don’t really sound like that…” It seemingly portrays Nashville as a city full of arrogant white southerners with thick southern accents. Funny, because most of my friends from high school didn’t have as thick of accents as the cast of Nashville, and some (myself included) had no noticeable accent at all (I’m basing this off the fact that multiple people from Ohio have noted that I don’t have a thick southern accent).

In the end, Nashville is like a car wreck for me: terrible to watch but even harder not to watch. Perhaps I’m negatively biased though.