Nashville Has Been Cancelled

[GaT]

16 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

I live in Nashville and WSM plays the Stella Sisters fairly often.  I'd love to hear everybody though, and don't.

Out of all the singers on the show the Stella Sisters would be the last I would expect or want to hear. Is it just because they're cute little girls who can sing?

[Kathemy]

No, it's because Lennon Stella is the second best singer of the cast. Plus she's got a wee sister.

[kismet]

My guess is it is because the Lennon sisters parents are in the Nashville Music scene. I believe they are musicians &/or song-writers.

Do they play original stuff or just the stuff from the show?

[LJonEarth]

4 hours ago, Telepath said:

No, it's because Lennon Stella is the second best singer of the cast. Plus she's got a wee sister.

Just out of curiosity, who is considered to be the best singer in the cast? I don't listen to much current mainstream country music.

[TVFAN]

It sounds as if Lionsgate may be making progress in its efforts to save the show:  http://www.spoilertv.com/2016/05/nashville-liongate-tv-in-discussion.html

[Kathemy]

1 hour ago, LJonEarth said:

Just out of curiosity, who is considered to be the best singer in the cast? I don't listen to much current mainstream country music.

Clare Bowen by a mile.

http://www.knoxnews.com/entertainment/columnists/chuck-campbell/music-review-goodbye-nashville-and-good-riddance-32fcf1b4-e64f-4b9d-e053-0100007f9dc2-379814221.html

[Sandman]

8 hours ago, slasherboy said:

Is "Heh. HEAs, and meta-HEAs" a good thing?  I hope so.

I meant Happily Ever Afters for the characters and for you (I was thinking yours would be the meta- part), so, yeah!

Sorry if it seemed I was trying to be more cute than clear.

[slasherboy]

11 hours ago, Telepath said:

No, it's because Lennon Stella is the second best singer of the cast. Plus she's got a wee sister.

Seriously?  She wouldn't be my choice.

 

10 hours ago, kismet said:

My guess is it is because the Lennon sisters parents are in the Nashville Music scene. I believe they are musicians &/or song-writers.

Do they play original stuff or just the stuff from the show?

I can recall that song from The Lumineers and a couple others, but I don't think the others were from the show.  It was something I'd seen/heard before on YouTube.

 

3 hours ago, Sandman said:

I meant Happily Ever Afters for the characters and for you (I was thinking yours would be the meta- part), so, yeah!

Sorry if it seemed I was trying to be more cute than clear.

No apologies needed!  I'm just not up with all the acronyms you kids use these days.

Edited May 21, 2016 by slasherboy

[Kathemy]

No, this isn't "subjective." I'm so, so tired of people playing the "it's just your opinion" card at all times. It's like telling me that it's "just my opinion" that Usain Bolt is a better runner than your overweight sixty-year-old neighbor. I might prefer Taylor Swift's voice to Luciano Pavarotti but I would be an idiot to suggest she is the better singer. There are actual, objective criteria for things like this.

[Cranberry]

What makes Lennon's voice so good? It sounds thin at times to me, but hey, I'm no expert. I'd love to read an analysis.

[Kathemy]

Alright, first of all, I'm not trying to come off as arrogant here, even if I'm sure that's how most people read it - it's a failing of mine. What I am pointing out is that this isn't a subjective matter which also means that hey, I can be wrong, and my analysis can be flawed. If everything is "subjective" then nobody can be "wrong" and really that sort of kills any meaningful discussion of the subject.

Second, my first post I forgot one key word, "female". Second best female singer of the cast. If we drag the men into the mix it gets even murkier. And saying "second best female singer" isn't really setting the bar ultra-high, because Clare is heads and shoulders above the rest, and I'd say it's up to debate whether Lennon or Aubrey is the stronger.

Lennon's weakness is she's got poor breathing technique and as such not a lot of power, Aubrey wins there, even if hers is rather flawed too - better lungs, I suppose? However while Aubrey has more power and vocal support, Lennon has far better dynamic range to her voice. Aubrey sings more on an even tilt. Lennon is also vastly superior at adjusting, blending and harmonizing with other singers - Aubrey is poor at this, when you hear her singing duets she mostly sounds like she's trying to outshine her companion, but she's been improving in this aspect over time.

Another thing in favor of Lennon is superior timing and enunciation (which helps her while blending with others.) Lennon also has better pitch control (that is, unless she's out of breath.) Their vocal range is more or less equivalent, maybe slightly in favor of Aubrey. I also give Lennon a few bonus points because she's young and her voice isn't fully developed, her lower register should be a lot more powerful in a few years, and her register has become bigger over the years she's been on the show.

You could argue against me in this comparison but it's easy for anyone to hear if you, for example, listen to Lennon and Hayden singing "Telescope" that Lennon is technically superior. Hayden has very little dynamic range (singing at an even volume practically all the time) and whenever Lennon comes in, the lyrics "come alive."

These are just some aspects but in every category above Clare Bowen outshines them all, it's not really a contest.

Side note, Lennon really should get herself some classical training.

Oh and what makes Clare so great? Well, you can take practically any song of hers, but let's just focus on one of them...

Here we have a ton of things she does right which sets her apart from the other performers on the show. First of all, unlike some other singers who decide to "yeah, so I'm going to sing with vibrato" and keep that damn vibrato going on through entire phrases, she turns it on and off for each separate word seamlessly. She's got superb pitch control and never, ever miss a tone or even come close to have it ring false. She's able to do abrupt pitch shifts with zero effort. Her dynamic range is insane and she can go from a tonal whisper to 110% in an instant. She's modulating her voice for several different expressions coming off as strong, weak and strong again. Then you have the perfect harmonization with Sam - in fact, they are both truly stellar duet singers and rarely sound bad with anyone, except Clare with Jonathan. I could go on. Another great song to listen to if you want a display of her range is Black Roses.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Telepath
ETA

[DeLurker]

Bowen is the least pleasant singer in the show to me. 

[Kathemy]

3 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

Bowen is the least pleasant singer in the show to me. 

That's a perfectly valid opinion.

[DollEyes]

Another who is saddened, but not surprised by the show's cancellation. The way I see it, the show's demise was because it was too much, as in too much bad writing and wasting too much of it on new characters not worth caring about, such as Zoe, Vida, Frankie, Cash & Layla, to name a few. Will's coming-out story was one cliché after another, like most of the show.

 Hiring Zwick & Hershkowitz to revamp the show without even giving them a chance to do so makes no sense. However, if it does get another shot on another network-like, say Freeform (ABC's sister station) or CMT-then it should just be for one more season, to wrap up storylines and for syndication purposes.

Edited May 21, 2016 by DollEyes
To add stuff.

[Kathemy]

This is a pretty good article about judging voices.

http://www.easyeartraining.com/learn/the-16-keys-to-a-good-singing-voice/

[RedheadZombie]

On May 16, 2016 at 2:43 AM, kismet said:

I never heard any of the Nashville songs on the actual radio, was that intentional/contractual? I feel like if they actually released the songs on the radio it would have helped build an audience.

I was listening to Atlanta country radio during and after season one.  They would play a lot of Hayden's songs and credit them to Juliette Barnes".   I don't think it was paid promotion because she was played a lot. 

[Kathemy]

1 minute ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Those still mostly sound subjective to me.  Who decides what is "good tone"?  I don't like Bowen's tone.  I also think most of the examples of not having "strong support" are true of her, to my ears... her singing sounds weak, thin, feeble.

So a large vocal range is "subjective"? Being able to cover three octaves rather than two doesn't make anyone a better singer? Covering a wider dB range without losing your tone doesn't either?

Bowen has far better vocal support than any other female singer on the show. She's classically trained in operetta from the age of four. What you are referring to as "weak, thin and feeble" singing is a conscious artistic choice. She comes off as weak when she wants to come off as weak.That's range of dynamics and expression. Again you can listen to 'Black Roses' to hear that on display.

[LJonEarth]

With the way that television is fragmented and with movies, I wonder how quickly negotiations would need to move for this Bring Back Nashville to even work. People are already assuming Connie will go back to American Horror Story and Hayden's out for the time being again. With this industry the way it is, I'd be signing up for a new job as quickly as possible.

[Kathemy]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Mostly sound subjective.  Range and pitch, less so.  "Good tone", "good phrasing", "suitable volume", "good use of your ears", "love of your voice"... you can't measure those quantitatively.  Judgement applies.

I'm not listening to any displays of Bowen singing because I don't enjoy it and I'm not going to learn to, from reading that another does, even with a thesis on why they do.  But, hey, enjoy.  Hopefully someday she'll record something of her own outside the show so her fans can get more.  

I didn't write that article, I just said it was generally good. It's written as advice for aspiring singers. That said, yes, you can measure a thing such as "good tone" and "suitable volume" quantitatively. I could load a track of, for example, Bowen and Palladio's separated vocals into any professional-grade audio editor (WaveLab, Audition, you name it) and perform spectral analysis on the material to support this given enough time, but it isn't required, because people with a modicum of training recognize these things instantly.  Good tone is related to vocal discipline. It's about managing each sound you sing come out as intended and it is demonstrated - among other things - in what that article refers to as "clear consistent vowel sounds." It also comes into play in choir singing because choir singing require you to be able to change your tone to match your partner. If you can't hear that Clare Bowen is a great choir singer there really is no hope.

As for the bolded part of the quote, this isn't about "enjoyment". This is about the technical merit of an artist and that is no subjective matter.

1 hour ago, LJonEarth said:

With the way that television is fragmented and with movies, I wonder how quickly negotiations would need to move for this Bring Back Nashville to even work. People are already assuming Connie will go back to American Horror Story and Hayden's out for the time being again. With this industry the way it is, I'd be signing up for a new job as quickly as possible.

I'd say if it drags out more than a month it's toast, but let's not fool ourselves here. It's already toast. We're talking a 1% chance.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Telepath
Anal spelling correction

[LJonEarth]

3 minutes ago, Telepath said:

7 minutes ago, LJonEarth said:

With the way that television is fragmented and with movies, I wonder how quickly negotiations would need to move for this Bring Back Nashville to even work. People are already assuming Connie will go back to American Horror Story and Hayden's out for the time being again. With this industry the way it is, I'd be signing up for a new job as quickly as possible.

I'd say if it drags out more than a month it's toast, but let's not fool ourselves here. It's already toast. We're talking a 1% chance.

I'm not even necessarily pulling for it to return. I live in Nashville. I've got a love/hate relationship with the show anyway. I just wasn't expecting some of the cast to jump in to the efforts to bring it back, when others aren't as enthusiastic. The writing's been on the wall ratings and writing-wise for a long time with this.

[Kathemy]

1 hour ago, LJonEarth said:

I'm not even necessarily pulling for it to return. I live in Nashville. I've got a love/hate relationship with the show anyway. I just wasn't expecting some of the cast to jump in to the efforts to bring it back, when others aren't as enthusiastic. The writing's been on the wall ratings and writing-wise for a long time with this.

I think it makes perfect sense. The people on the cast who are rooting to bring back the show are the people who are musicians first and actors second, people who love being on a television show that gives them an outlet - not to mention a sizable income - for their music, and people who might not necessarily be that pissed off about bad storytelling. Connie and Hayden are both actresses first and I imagine for them Nashville  increasingly turned into a chore.

I think Clare Bowen will look back on this show with regret over how she couldn't keep things professional when it came to Sam Palladio. It really saddens me deeply that they apparently couldn't move past their personal differences, because they are magic together, and neither of them will find a better singing companion in their lives. Back in season one they used to perform together all the time, Sam and Clare dragging each other up on stage at their various gigs. They really seemed to love each other, and they could've been a legit, successful duo. (Of course, you could argue they are anyway; you don't get invited by Disney to sing "on Broadway" otherwise.) Now, Sam mostly performs alone even when singing the material he used to do as duets with her.

... but they really promoted the musical part of the show better than anyone else back then. I think the crack between them genuinely hurt the show's ratings.

[MisterS]

1 hour ago, LJonEarth said:

I'm not even necessarily pulling for it to return. I live in Nashville. I've got a love/hate relationship with the show anyway. I just wasn't expecting some of the cast to jump in to the efforts to bring it back, when others aren't as enthusiastic. The writing's been on the wall ratings and writing-wise for a long time with this.

I can't imagine Connie Britton hanging around. She seems relieved of a burden. I just feel sorry that Nashville didn't give her decent stuff to do. But the show wouldn't work without her.

[Kathemy]

14 minutes ago, MisterS said:

I can't imagine Connie Britton hanging around. She seems relieved of a burden. I just feel sorry that Nashville didn't give her decent stuff to do. But the show wouldn't work without her.

As I said, I think that if the show were to get renewed with decent writing and showrunners she would be happy to be back for a short final season. She's clearly not happy about how the show went down the drain.

[Ohmo]

Quote

Another thing in favor of Lennon is superior timing and enunciation.

This is interesting to me because enunciation is one of the things that I would say that Lesson would do well to improve.  I have no singing talent.  None, but enunciation is not merely a singing skill.  It's a speaking skill, and it's one of the reasons that I don't care for Lennon's singing.  I can't understand her.  I realize that not every song is about the enunciation of every word, but in many of Lennon's performances I can understand a line of two and then she deteriorates into one long mumble.  Maybe the lack of breathing technique and her lack of power have something to do with that.  On the flip side, that's why I'm glad the sisters sing together because it's always been my impression that Maisy has the enunciation and power that her sister seems to lack.  At this point, Lennon appears to need the support that Maisy's voice gives her.  If I'm not sure what Lennon is trying to say, I just wait for Maisy to get to her part.

Re; the distinction between enjoyment and skill.  I don't particularly enjoy Aubrey's songs, but I can understand her without a problem.  Ditto for Connie, who is known not to be the singer in the cast.  I know she does enough to get by, but I can understand her as well.

I agree that Clare is at the top of the heap in terms of Nashvillle's female singers.

[Kathemy]

It's easier to understand singers who sing in a simple manner. Aubrey and especially Connie generally sing in a simple, straight-forward manner. They also don't vary their volume very much, which makes it easier to make out the words. A person who isn't familiar with the genre will normally have a lot of trouble making out the lyrics of some classically trained tenors and sopranos.

When you're discussing singing, enunciation doesn't necessarily just mean singing intelligibly. I feel Lennon's "relaxed" consonants is a conscious choice on her part, even if I understand how it can be frustrating for some people.

Maisy has both less power and usually sings in a less complex manner than Lennon. Again you understand her easier because she sings easier. That said it's true that sometimes Lennon goes off into mumbles and that's because she isn't breathing properly, but Maisy loses her breath too, you just don't notice it so much because she's the secondary voice and Lennon covers her.

Oh and as for Maisy as she's getting older she's developing a more complex singing voice. This is one of their latest uploads,

Does Maisy sing more crisp consonants here than Lennon? I don't think so ;-) Doesn't matter though, they're both great, and of course Maisy is Lennon's best partner. Maisy is an absolutely incredible singer for her age.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Telepath
ETR

[madam magpie]

Holy hell. Those kids are fantastic.

[wendyg]

IMO, Maisy will have the more powerful voice of the two sisters when she's matured, but that's quite some ways off. What's notable to me about Lennon is that she has a flexible but specific vocal style - she's instantly recognizable. Both sisters could - and should - improve their enunciation, but that's a very common problem with younger singers today because they don't, like earlier generations, grow up having to fill acoustic spaces without amplification. When you grow up having to learn to communicate to the back row through your own efforts (projection) you learn how to punch consonants so you're understood. Lennon's voice is quite breathy, and yes, maybe some classical training could help her with that.

Connie Britton isn't a singer. She's an actor who sings for this part, and the showrunners have been careful not to give her anything beyond her capabilities. And even then she sounds stiff.

I love Aubrey Peeples' voice and admire its power, but she overdoes some of the styling (again, in my opinion).

A lot comes down to what you think a great singer is. You could argue that the greatest singer is the one with the greatest vocal capability - you look at people like Bonnie Raitt (who has an *enormous* vocal range and an ability to wield power in all parts of it) or Sandy Denny (who had the greatest control over the tones of her voice I've ever heard) and you could say they're the best singers, and that would be true. But you could also look in entirely another direction and think about *communicating a song*, and there the range is much different and much broader - it has room for Raitt and Denny and Emmylou Harris, who I love for her sheer versatility, of course, but it also has room for Louis Killen (one of the great British ballad masters) or Ray Fisher (one of the great Scottish ballad masters) or Helen Schneyer (one of the great US singers), all three of whom entirely unaccompanied could move audiences to tears or, as someone put it long ago, move you to silence. There are so many different measures of this sort of thing. (And if you're curious what I've done in this area, I'll direct you to www.pelicancrossing.net/mp3s.htm.)

I agree with Telepath that Claire Bowen has the most impressive vocal range, the greatest ability to use her voice any way she wants, etc., on the show. I'd be very curious to hear what she sounds like unamplified and unaccompanied in a folk club, though. :)

wg

Edited May 23, 2016 by wendyg

[Kathemy]

4 hours ago, wendyg said:

Both sisters could - and should - improve their enunciation, but that's a very common problem with younger singers today because they don't, like earlier generations, grow up having to fill acoustic spaces without amplification. When you grow up having to learn to communicate to the back row through your own efforts (projection) you learn how to punch consonants so you're understood.

Yes, that's an excellent point. Side note, before coming to Nashville Clare Bowen had never used a microphone.

[Wilco]

Didn't think they'd cancel it ( at least would give a shorted S5) but did think it deserved to be yet still a little sad because...as so many others have noted...it was so good in S1 and even in S2. And a great original cast of actors and characters and music.  Was thinking about when the show started going downhill. At first- thought maybe it was the car crash at end S1...but then S2 was pretty good I thought. But I think with S2, when they started phasing out the political subplot, they just kept bringing in MORE characters and guest actors with varying degrees of talent. And it just seemed to muck up all the plots. Thought the show worked best when the main 6 (then 7...Will and Carmack I thought were a great addition because he was introduced organically as pt of Gunnar's storyline) interacted with each other. And then the show just devolved  completely in S3 that brought the prolonged Rayna Luke story then the absurd liver disease/miserable Beverly and  of course- worst of all- the PPD. No viewer wants to be miserable watching a show all the time.

Seems like Connie Britton may be a little relieved about its demise and can't blame her since the quality was down. And she didn't seem happy with the direction of the show (like many of us). She'll no doubt have plenty of options in tv and film. She is a great actor and a pro and brilliant person in her own right. Heck..she could probably be an Ambassador to China if she wanted or in politics in some way.

Rooting most for Hayden Panettiere and Jonathan Jackson. Both are very good singers IMO and terrific actors. Clare Bowen clearly the best singer but not a big fan of her range as an actor...nor Palladio. Didn't Bowen have a record coming out that was going to be produced by TBone Burnett or something? Maybe missed it but haven't seen any follow up about that. 

Am surely in the minority, but I thought HP was the real star of the show and Juliette the best character- in spite of all the ridiculous things TPTB put Juliette through.  Do not think there's a precedent for a spinoff of a canceled show...but I would love a spin off show centered on Juliette. Do hope ABC or another network gives her a star vehicle opportunity. As for JJ, rooting big for him as well because of the way he and the writers (one of the successful things they did) turned around the Avery character and how he did so much with often (IMO) so little storyline/dialogue. 

Have noted  Dee Johnson was the EP and justifiably deserves much of the blame for the show's failings..but doesn't Callie Khouuri as the creator approve all the storylines? Curious how decisions are made with a show's direction. 

Lastly- sorry for lengthy post-will also miss the great comments on this forum and the terrificly funny/snarky/insightful episode reviews from Max Weiss of Vulture, Kimberly Roots of TVLine, and John Ramos. 

[kismet]

I really was surprised it didn't get a mercy killing of a shortened 5th season. Just a few episodes to wrap stuff up properly. I guess that would be rude to the new showrunners, but they could have just brought Callie back in. Clearly the writers were not intending for the show to end since every plot line is in shambles. Unlike Castle, which was another surprising cancellation however the writers have been wrapping up the NY & Kate part since they seemed intent on bringing it in a different direction.

It actually felt like Nashville was perhaps going to get back to the music & glory of earlier sessions, esp with Juliette returning and the release of everyone's on show album. S/G were back on track. Will's story was powerful. Luke was running a good label. I hated the acting/writing of the Maddie storyline, but I wonder if it had been better & Cash had not been horrible, if I would have appreciated the story as it parallels a little back to Rayna's story. Perhaps they could have kept out Deacon's breakdown & the Beverly drama because that added nothing to the story. But imagine a united R/D trying to convince Maddie that they know what's best for her when clearly they made a lot of mistakes in their youth. A headstrong Maddie not being lead astray in some convoluted revenge on R/D plan.

All it really needs is a few episodes that could air in the winter, when let's face it does ABC really have anything to offer in the winter? They cleared up space with both cancellations of Galavant & Agent Carter. Most of their main shows go on hiatus. ABC really couldn't give it 6 weeks in Jan/Feb?

[wendyg]

Wilco: the show's creator's role can cover quite a range (Ken Levine has done postings about this on his blog). The creators whose names we know best tend to run their shows themselves, but in other cases a creator with no showrunning experience will either take on an experienced showrunner to work with them (usually, dictated by the network, and not always the best choice for the material); others simply sell their script, pocket whatever royalties accrue, and walk away (the original script for BUNHEADS, for example, was written by someone who had nothing to do with the eventual show - I've read it; the lead took on a high school marching band rather than a ballet school).  So Callie Khouri's present relationship with this show could be almost anything. There's no reason to assume she has input on the scripts - though she might.

Edited May 24, 2016 by wendyg

[jjjmoss]

Yeah, it couldn't crack a 1 this whole calendar year. No reason to throw money away.

[whatsatool]

Slate had an interesting article about Nashville being about addiction.

[queenanne]

Variety has an article out today saying (according to Lionsgate), Nashville is a sought-after property, with distribution venues coming to them with offers instead of the other way around:

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/nashville-revival-season-5-shopped-around-1201783752/

If it is so, it's gotta be down to positivity imbued by having Herskovitz and Zwick attached; otherwise little has changed from the point of view of other cancelled shows in the past "being shopped around".

[Kazia]

They saved Friday Night Lights, so maybe they can save Nashville! (I'm only partially serious with that - FNL is in an entirely different league of TV shows, imo).

Like many others, I'm really shipping for Lionsgate to get it picked up for a full fifth season so that we can see what the new show runners can do with it. That seems to be the overarching complaint (the writers drove the show into the ground), so now let's test this theory and see what these actors can do with different writing.

Also re: voices... Chip Esten's voice gives me chills. He has an easy, passionate, and catchy way of singing to my novice ears, and I love listening to him.

And I know Connie isn't a singer and that her voice is the weakest, but her duet with Maisy is my favorite of the season (and maybe series, though I really like "Casino" with Clare and Sam). I think their voices blended well together, probably because Maisy has an uncanny way of harmonizing with other voices.

[shron17]

2 hours ago, Kazia said:

And I know Connie isn't a singer and that her voice is the weakest, but her duet with Maisy is my favorite of the season (and maybe series, though I really like "Casino" with Clare and Sam). I think their voices blended well together, probably because Maisy has an uncanny way of harmonizing with other voices.

I so often enjoy Connie's performances.  I think it's her acting ability, or maybe I'm just easy, but I usually find her very convincing as a well-loved big-time artist. I especially love when she sings with the Stellas', Chip or even Hayden, but I think my favorite was the first time she sang after her accident when Luke had to chime in and help her out.

[Lillybee]

I hope that at least they could do a two hour movie to wrap up all the stories, like the CSI finale.

[Wilco]

On ‎5‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 5:43 AM, wendyg said:

Wilco: the show's creator's role can cover quite a range (Ken Levine has done postings about this on his blog). The creators whose names we know best tend to run their shows themselves, but in other cases a creator with no showrunning experience will either take on an experienced showrunner to work with them (usually, dictated by the network, and not always the best choice for the material); others simply sell their script, pocket whatever royalties accrue, and walk away (the original script for BUNHEADS, for example, was written by someone who had nothing to do with the eventual show - I've read it; the lead took on a high school marching band rather than a ballet school).  So Callie Khouri's present relationship with this show could be almost anything. There's no reason to assume she has input on the scripts - though she might.

Thank you for explaining this. Saw that Callie Khouri directed the finale- believe she's directed a number of the episodes. Also believe she has written or co-written a few episodes- but she can't be happy with how Dee Johnson managed things. I do think that the creators who remain involved with their shows and write for them - i.e. The Kings and the Good Wife and Weiner (or is it Weintraub?) of Mad Men-- seem to have a real vision long term for their characters (and not all the fans agree with the vision, I guess).

I haven't read much about it, but I thought Khouri's vision for the show was about how people chase their dreams in Nashville- with particular emphasis on two strong and different women and their journeys. I am all for ensembles-- but there was just too many storylines with characters that I don't think the audience ever clamored for. If somehow it gets a second chance, hope they get back more to the original premise.

[wendyg]

With a network show, you can never tell which unpopular decisions have been made by the showrunners and which by the network suits. Levine, for example, was one of the creators of the 1990s sitcom ALMOST PERFECT (starred Nancy Travis). The original idea was: woman gets the job of her life and meets the man of her life at the same time. How does she balance them? The network insisted they should break up the relationship at the beginning of season 2. Completely destroyed the original premise. It didn't last long after that. Not the showrunners' decision, but of course they're the first ones people blame. It has gotten much, much worse since then.

[wonderwoman]

1 hour ago, wendyg said:

With a network show, you can never tell which unpopular decisions have been made by the showrunners and which by the network suits. 

Of course, sometimes you can tell, even if you don't know. One example: I have no doubt that when Dirty Sext Money, returned after the writers' strike, ABC inserted themselves and completely destroyed the show. 

And sometimes you do know: the CW allowed Life Unexpected a second season only if creator/showrunner, Liz Tiegler,, agreed to the network's "suggestions," which, of course, were a disaster and the show never made to season. Difference is, Tiegler told everyone who would listen that all of the changes the viewers so hated were forced upon her by the CW.

[paperplate]

I came here to read up on my favorite show only to find it cancelled.  I hate how fickle networks are these days, they always want something for nothing.  Of course it's going to cost a lot to produce, it's an awesome show.  one bad season shouldn't be a determining factor.  And even if Hayden needed to take time off, the rest of the cast is pretty stellar, I'm sure they could make do.  They even brought in new writers.

It just sucks.  

Edited June 7, 2016 by paperplate

[Kathemy]

Someone should change the name of the thread because it's been renewed. And/or close it.

[Cranberry]

Not sure about closing a story-tagged thread, as they're also linked to the story page commenting system. But for anyone who's somehow not aware, Nashville has been picked up by CMT.