Saddle up, country fans, there’s a new rodeo in town and it hits your television screens every Wednesday night on ABC at 10:00pm ET/9:00pm CT. The new and highly anticipated “Nashville” stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettierre as country music artists who come together, despite Britton’s character’s desire to keep her distance from that “brat.” Connie Britton plays Rayna Jaymes, a forty-something artist who is having trouble staying afloat as a newer generation, headed by Panettiere’s Juliette Barnes, starts to take over the country music scene. Picture a Faith Hill meets Reba McEntire when you think of Jaymes — attractive, stylish, unparalleled talent and success — and a street-walking Taylor Swift when you think of Barnes — young, fun, but overly flirtatious. Now that Jaymes has to contend with the fresh, young, new artists, her record label has recognized an obvious dip in her popularity. While Jaymes will tell you that she has gone triple platinum in the past, her record label isn’t interested in past successes and fears that if she does not make a drastic move — and fast — her career will take the Mindy McCreedy route (if you are asking “who?”, that is exactly my point). So, in a last-ditch effort to give Jaymes’ career a little bit of CPR, the record label recommends that Jaymes call it quits on her own tour and join forces with Barnes as her *gasp* opening act. Now picture this — Reba opens for Kellie Pickler. It’s on par with that. Naturally, Jaymes has no interest in being the pre-cursor to a little fiery country-singing Britney Spears, but something tells us she’s fighting a losing battle!

Like any other late-night primetime show, there also exists love, infidelity, family angst, and this serving comes with a heaping side of politics. What should you take away from episode 1 of this much-talked-about new show? Just because something seems a certain way on the outside, it doesn’t mean it is just that. Fame has its falls and behind every person who has his or her name in lights lies darkness. Nashville just allows us the opportunity to shine a flashlight on the dark side — at least as far as these fictitious superstars are concerned. Bottom line, this show has it all — glitz and glam, love and scandal, cute kids, and a killer cast. If you aren’t tuning in, we suggest you change that immediately, because we have a feeling it is going to be better than any eight-second ride!

Tune in next week for music, drama, political banter, and a glimpse of the streets of Nashville. And don’t forget to check back here every week for our weekly review as country music takes over television (as it should be).

Episode 1 Playlist (head over to iTunes to download several of these tracks):

“Already Gone” – Performed by Rayna Jaymes
“Back Home” – Performed by Deacon (character)
“Boys and Buses” – Performed by Juliette Barnes
“It’s My Life” – Performed by Rayna Jaymes
“Love Like Mine” – Performed by Juliette Barnes
“If I Didn’t Know Better” – Performed by Scarlett and Gunnar (characters)
“Even If It Breaks Your Heart” – Eli Young Band
“Small Town USA” – Justin Moore
“Type of Gurl” – Rasheeda
“Too Good To Be True” – Eden’s Edge
“Sin For A Sin” – Miranda Lambert
“Did It For the Girl” – Greg Bates
“Stand By Your Man” – Tammy Wynette
“Rose-Colored Glasses” – John Connlee