WARNING: this post contains spoilers for the Nashville series finale.
I can’t remember a series ending as annoyingly as ABC’s Nashville. Everything was going along so well as the episode progressed on Wednesday night. Here’s a quick rundown: Maddie un-emancipated herself and came home to Rayna, Deacon and Daphne. Will got back together with Kevin and confronted the hateful TV journalist who lambasted him for promoting his “gay agenda.” Gunnar and Scarlett got back together. Layla was exposed as a terrible person (but her album was a hit) and we finally saw Luke’s daughter Sage!
This leaves Avery and Juliette. Juliette came clean to the press about the night her manager Jeff Fordham died. She admitted that he died trying to save her from committing suicide and that she went to rehab for alcohol and drug abuse. She walked out of the Academy Awards ceremony before finding out if she won the Best Actress award (she didn’t) and jetted home to see Avery and Cadence, who were waiting for her at the airport. Touching reunion time, right? Not so much. Avery was informed that her plane was missing. The end. Are you kidding me? Poor Juliette should have had a happy ending and she ends up possibly dying the same way as Patsy Cline, whom she played in her award-nominated role. Thanks, ABC.
According to TV Line, an alternate, happy ending, featuring Avery and Juliette reuniting was filmed, but producers opted to crush our hearts in the hopes that the show will find a new home for another season. Later on Thursday, it was hinted that we may get to see this scene, even if as a bonus feature on the season 4 DVD.
At least I’m not the only one who is feeling out of sorts about the finale. Connie Britton may be okay with the end of the series, but many are not. Angry Nashville fans took to Twitter to make their displeasure known, with tweets like “I did not spend four seasons on this show for THAT ENDING. At least freaking tweet us what happens” and “NASHVILLE DID NOT JUST END THE SERIES WITH THAT CLIFFHANGER WHAT THE HELLLLLLLLLLLLLL.” My sentiments exactly.
I did not spend four seasons on this show for THAT ENDING. At least freaking tweet us what happens. #NashvilleFinale pic.twitter.com/oB58pNuMwr
— Wendi Reichstein (@WendiReichstein) May 26, 2016
NASHVILLE DID NOT JUST END THE SERIES WITH THAT CLIFFHANGER WHAT THE HELLLLLLLLLLLLLL #NashvilleFinale
— Nneka M. Okona (@afrosypaella) May 26, 2016
Beautiful man Charles “don’t call him Chip” Esten, who played Deacon tweeted his thanks to ABC.
My deepest and most sincere thanks to @ABCNetwork for four magical years of @Nashville_ABC ✨#GRATEFUL #onward #BringBackNashville
— Charles Esten (@CharlesEsten) May 26, 2016
Equally beautiful man Chris Carmack, who played Will, also tweeted a message of gratitude to the show’s fans.
And thank you to all the #Nashies !!! Last check 140k tweets for #BringBackNashville … So much love!
— Chris Carmack (@RealCarmack) May 26, 2016
Deadline reported that Lionsgate is optimistic that Nashville will get a season 5 and are already working on scripts for it.
#Nashies What a cliffhanger! But we won’t leave you hanging. There's more story to be told. #BringBackNashville
— Lionsgate TV (@LionsgateTV) May 26, 2016
Entertainment Weekly reported that during a conference call with analysts, the company’s Television Chairman, Kevin Beggs, sent this optimistic message:
The fans and everyone else is clamoring for more seasons… we kind of go one season at a time with our thinking, so our near term plan is getting another season,” he said, adding that Lionsgate has about four to five potential outlets looking to pick up Nashville and that “most are in-bound inquiries coming to us” to continue the show. “We have long term deals with the cast. These kinds of shows can go on forever and ever. That’s our hope and expectation, but we gotta do it one season at a time. We hope to land season 5 and keep talking about the show to come.
Have we really seen the end of Rayna and the gang? (Well, Deacon and Will are the only ones I really care about because, damn, they’re handsome.) Are we going to find out what happened to Juliette? (I’m rooting for alien abduction myself.) Let’s hope Lionsgate can work their magic and #BringBackNashville.
Photo credit: WENN.com, Getty Images
I hate when long running shows end on a cliffhanger. When a show has been on for 3 or 4 years it deserves a real ending. Saying that it may be picked up by another network or become a web serious doesn’t help. It may not happen.
You know, though, everything else was so neatly tied up that I really didn’t even mind it. I’m not ready for the show to be over yet, but they actually ended all but that one moment on a high note and I feel pretty satisfied. If season 5 happens, they get to do it with a (mostly) clean slate. It will be interesting to see what they do!
I was cool with it as well. I’m not down for a happily tied bow on all the plot lines, but I was very much ready to sacrifice Maddie to save Juliette. It’ll be back, hopefully, and fingers crossed more Daphne singing and less Beverly references. My new go-to insult is “don’t be such a Beverly” as supplied by the Fug girls. Too good
<3
And for people like my grandmother, who loves the show but doesn’t have a computer/internet/smartphone/etc, they’re just SOL even if the show is picked up as a web series.
I loved the ending, although I would have loved a neat resolution for Juliet and Avery, who deserves it more than anyone else… in my heart she was just delayed and landed right after the show ended 🙂
Yes! It’s so easy to just pretend that happened. I’m cool with it. 😉
They really are gambling on it being renewed somewhere else, huh? I hope it is.
From some interviews, I think Connie has stated that she wished it weren’t as soap opera-ish as it is, so I would really like to see what the new writing crew brought in for next season would do, if given the chance.
I really liked how they had Will calmly get right to the root of the bigoted tv lady’s problems. And if it comes back, I hope Autumn is gone. Alicia Witt is very nice and musically talented, but I have never liked any character she has played on TV!
Right?! she came on Nashville shortly after her appearance on The Walking Dead and my reaction was “this f*****g woman, again?”
Autumn was an awful character, and also Alicia does something really funny with her mouth when she talks, almost like clenches it, and I seriously couldn’t see anything else.
Hahaha she does, @Little Darling! I think that’s 90% of what bothers me so much about her.
I had the same thought, but mine was from Justified.
Granted, Autumn was not a character anyone is supposed to like, but I always have a negative reaction to her characters for some reason. I’ve heard her in interviews and stuff and she’s really nice, I don’t know why she always gets cast in such roles.
OH, that moment was so good! Long time coming, too.
I think that’s an interesing point from the great Connie Britton. I don’t think it was soapy when it started. It was a refreshing show where the main characters were women of different ages but it didn’t feel gimmicky (“look, here are our main charactersand they are women) because they were such good, three dimensional characters (although I never liked Scarlett but that’s personal preference) and there were with strong male leads too. I’m not sure at what point it descended into kitschy soap, maybe Juliette’s mum’s story or the fake pregnancy storyline but it did and for me it was never as convincing.
Alicia witt had no purpose except to push scar&gun together and then divided again. Ya she was dead weight, but so were Maddie, teddy, sadie stone, Layla, cash, her daddy, Beverly, the random girl who slept in her car…..and rayna (this past season only)
They probably will not get renewed bc the show turned into a soap opera joke which sucks bc it started so good!
I love Nashville – it totally converted this London living rock and techno head to having a little room in her heart for country music! I thought Hayden P did an amazing job as Juliette and I’m hanging all my hopes on someone picking the show up for a new series.
Hayden really surprised me on this show, especially with her voice. Remember in the beginning she was supposed to be like an auto-tuned pop star who couldn’t actually sing very well? She’s actually quite talented.
I’ve opened up a little more to country music as well, but the more singer/songwriter stuff this show highlighted with Gunnar and Scarlett, and Layla towards the end. I still have no interest in the big country star stuff like Luke Wheeler, or IRL Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, etc.
Yes I admit when I say ‘country’ I’m mainly referring to the stuff the women did, Layla’s voice was amazing (especially liked the songs ‘Blind’ and ‘The Book’), Scarlett’s ‘Black Roses’ is tingly and Juliette always has some good stompers. I’d buy any albums they did in the real world.
Nashville was a great show and had an awesome cast. I hope it comes back.
That on stage Gunnar/Scarlett kiss did it for me! I actually squealed when it happened. I like them way better as a couple than obnoxiously feuding exes. And the look on Autumn’s face was priceless.
Since the series is over, can I just say I feel bad for Layla? She gave up Harvard and was cut off by her parents to follow her dream. She was manipulated, lied to, ridiculed on television, abandoned by her record label, and lost the love of her life (however gross he was). Sure Layla was bratty, but why shouldn’t Juliette answer for Jeff’s death? It wasn’t her fault but she was involved and the world should know he died trying to do the right thing.
Whether or not the show gets picked up, I think we can feel confident Juliette is safe and she & Avery will be reunited. This isn’t GoT.
I think I’m one of the few Layla fans out there, but I really like her voice and the music she was doing towards the end of the series. She definitely got crapped on by everyone repeatedly, so I don’t blame her for acting out a bit. If it continues, I’d like to see her mature past that though and find real success and happiness.
I really liked her character since she got together with Jeff Fordham. I wish they hadn’t turned her back into a manipulative psycho.
I agree tealily. I didn’t like her at all until she got together with Jeff. That relationship actually made both of them nicer people. Then after he died I really hoped she would continue down that path. But the stuff she pulled with Avery just made me dislike her again. And don’t get me wrong. I’m not a huge Juliette fan but she became just as jerky with the stuff she pulled.
I can’t co-sign for anyone who ruined my childhood dream of a live action Jem movie but It seems they never really did know who they wanted Layla to be and just kind of plugged her in.
I hope it comes back, fingers crossed for Netflix. That ending was too fraught with possibility and happiness (well, for everyone that isn’t Juliette and Avery) to just be over now. Will finally spoke out. Luke, meh. Layla I expected to just get dropped by everyone when they saw how psycho she can be. Maddie’s emancipation felt too much like “this happened to Kesha.” I wanted to smack that girl throughout most of this season. HATE that song she did. Just yuck. I try not to get into tons of shows, because the ones I like historically are gone after 1-3 seasons. Yet utter crap continues to be made. And on a related note, f#ck vh1 for renewing, then canceling, Hindsight. Maybe I should just quit tv and move to books.
Argh! I know, I loved Hindsight and was so gutted it was cancelled.
It was her (Maddie’s) suddenly blinding white teeth that alarmed me this season, that combined with all the fake tan/makeup
Yes, I know his character died, but bring back Powers Booth! But each day brings fresh hope…Resurrect “Daddy”!
Wait quick can someone explain to me why Charles Esten doesn’t want to be called Chip anymore …??
I hated that Avery’s character was left hanging! I definitely want them to “Bring Back Nashville”. I love this show (even though it got very soapy last season or two)….I still love it!
I have to wonder what was going on behind-the-scenes of that show. After the first season where Hayden’s character became pretty popular, they spent the next 3 seasons crapping all over her with thes absurd storylines. Then Layla comes along and it is a another young female character getting crapped on. Is this like The Good Wife where the original star, Connie Britton, wielded too much power behind-the-scenes or do the writers just like writing horrible storylines?