"Nashville" (premieres Wed., Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC) is one of the best new dramas of the season, but you don't have to be a country music fan to get into it. The show's themes go beyond the music: passion, drive, self-discovery, pride and the search for fame and success all ring true.
HuffPost TV sat down with stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, who play a country legend and her hot, young competition, respectively; and Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio who play musical talent that's yet to be discovered on "Nashville." They explained that even though there are tensions and rivalries set up from the beginning of the pilot, nothing is totally black and white.
"We're not playing cliched female conflict, we're not playing catfight ... we're not interested in anything like that," Britton said of her character Rayna James and Panettiere's Juliette Barnes. "So it's going to be really fun for us to play this conflict, but in a way that feels true."
"They actually have a lot more in common than people would expect," Panettiere agreed. "They're both survivors," Britton added. "The two of them are just fighting for their lives ... it's just that they happen to get in each other's way."
In contrast to that relentless ambition, Bowen teased that her burgeoning songstress Scarlett might not stay as sweet and innocent as she starts out. "All of us could end up just about anywhere ... everybody wants to be a little bad sometimes," she said.
But they all agreed that having music legend T-Bone Burnett on board to coach and produce the music, and Oscar-winning screenwriter and creator Callie Khouri (of "Thelma & Louise" fame) guiding the story makes the show what it is.
Watch our interviews above, then tell us: Are you excited for "Nashville"?
"Nashville" premieres Wed., Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
