'Nashville' Season 5: Rachel Bilson's and Kaitlin Doubleday's Characters Introduced
Fans are given a first look at Rachel Bilson and Kaitlin Doubleday's characters in the newest teaser for "Nashville" season 5.
Following the unexpected death of Rayna James (Connie Britton) in the midseason finale, "Nashville" will be welcoming new faces when it returns for the second half of season 5. The casting was already announced in March, but details about the roles were being kept under wraps at the time.
CMT has now unveiled further information about Bilson's and Doubleday's characters, along with a new teaser that features their first scenes on the show.
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Doubleday plays the role of singer/songwriter Jessie Caine, who decided to leave her hometown after a controversy ruined her image. Despite the scandal that rocked her music career, Jessie is determined to start over and continue pursuing her dreams. She will make her first appearance in the series' milestone 100th episode airing on June 15.
Bilson has been tapped to play Alyssa Green, a Silicon Valley marketing expert who is introduced as Highway 65's chief strategy officer in the sneak peek. Unlike the other characters, she is not from Nashville and she does not have any knowledge of or interest in the country music genre. Alyssa will debut a few days after Doubleday's Jessie does.
Many doubted "Nashville's" future since lead actress Britton's exit, but the series has proved it can move forward even without one of its biggest stars. In an interview, co-showrunner Marshall Herskovitz said the renewal opens up more storyline possibilities for the show.
"There are so many stories to tell about the music world, the country music world, about Nashville, about these characters — I would love for the show to go on," he shared. "There is still plenty of dramatic potential in this group of people."
Earlier this week, the series promoted recurring actor Cameron Scoggins to series regular for the second half of season 5. Newcomer Odessa Adlon was also confirmed to join "Nashville" as a recurring character.
The fifth season of "Nashville" returns on June 1, Thursday, at 9 p.m. EDT on CMT.
