'Nashville' Season 5: After Rayna's Death, Producer Reveals Upcoming Dilemmas

By Gracezyl Blanco, Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Fans of country musical drama "Nashville" had to say goodbye to leading character Rayna James (Connie Britton), during its ninth episode for season 5 which aired on Thursday, Feb. 23.

Rayna's death due to a car crash signalled an uncertain turn for the characters and the story of the show, but producers assured fans that there are more things coming up for the musical series.

In an interview with TVLine, executive producer Marshall Herskovitz revealed that the unfinished album that Rayna and Deacon (Charles Esten) were working on will be a huge dilemma that will be faced in the upcoming episodes, specifically during episode 11.

Furthermore, Herskovitz revealed that episode 12 will incorporate a significant time jump. "When we come back, for the 12th episode, there will be a time jump equal to the amount we're off the air: two-and-a-half to three months," he says.

Speculations that Rayna might still come back to life was however quashed by the confirmation that the actress, Britton, is really leaving the show for good.

"It was my decision. It was something that, for various reasons, had been percolating for me. What was really important to me was that it felt like the right time," the actress said during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Britton also shared that she had already expressed her desire to leave the show even before season 5 of "Nashville" debuted on CMT, right after it was canceled on ABC. In addition, the actress explained that her decision was not affected by the fact that the show switched networks. "It really wasn't about being on ABC or CMT at all. None of the reasoning behind it had anything to do with network," Britton said, according to THR.

Herskovitz also respects Britton's decision to leave the show. "I could tell that this was really — from a very deep place as an artist that she felt she needed to do — and I respected that," he said, according to TVLine.

The executive producer also added that the decision of writing Rayna's death was a very difficult one, given how she was a very dedicated mother, wife, and artist. The producers then finally decided that if the character "was going to leave the show, there was no alternative to having her die."

Catch new episodes of "Nashville" every Thursday, 9 p.m. ET on CMT.