‘Nashville’ Season 5 Returns with Explosive Trailer; New Characters Joining Hayden Panettiere, Connie Britton on CMT Premiere

‘Nashville’ season 5 recently dropped an explosive new trailer ahead of the series debut on CMT. New characters will be joining series mainstays Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton in the incoming season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, season 5 of ‘Nashville’ is set to premiere on CMT on December 15, 2016 with the first hour of the two-hour season premiere ahead of the full two-hour premiere on January 5. The series, which premiered on October 2012 on ABC, was cancelled by the network after a fourth season but was picked up by CMT for another run on the small screen.

It stars Hayden Panettiere as rising country music star Juliette Barnes and Connie Britton as the legendary country superstar Rayna Jaymes. The series follows the two as they struggle with personal and professional challenges. Season 5 picks up where season 4 left off.

The official season 5 description reads, "The season begins with Rayna and Deacon facing a new normal with Maddie (Lennon Stella) now back home and Highway 65 struggling financially. The shocking news about Juliette creates a wave of emotions throughout Nashville and sets Rayna off on a journey of discovery."

The new footage from the trailer showed marital problems for Rayna and Deacon (Charles Esten) while Scarlett (Clare Bowen) and Gunnar (Sam Palladio) face some challenges of their own when Rayna pushes them to release a new single. It also features Juliette scared for her life a few moments before her private plane goes off the grid.

According to Yahoo! TV, new characters will also be introduced including Cameron Scoggins as Silicon Valley billionaire and Rayna fan Zach Welles, Jen Richards as physical therapist Allyson Del Lago, Joseph David-Jones as the young musician Clay, Bridgit Mendler as internet sensation Ashley Wilkenson, Christian Coulson as British director Damien George, Murray Bartlett as men's fashion designer Jakob Fine, and Rhiannon Giddens as social worker Hanna Lee "Hallie" Jordan.

‘Nashville’ season 5 marks the series’ first under the direction of new showrunners Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick. The series is also executive produced with Steve Buchanan, Callie Khouri and CMT's Jayson Dinsmore and Morgan Selzer.