NASHVILLE NEWS: Chris Carmack Talks Will & Gunnar; Hayden Panettiere; Production Incentives; Renewal Chances

Chris Carmack Q&A: What's Next for Will and Gunnar on NASHVILLE?
On Will's sexualty: "I think we can all grow our own conclusion as a viewer but from Will’s perspective, I think he’s still very unclear and he’s very conflicted and he’s repressing a lot. He’s shoving a lot down and I don’t think it’s as simple for Will as black and white. It’s going to play out and I want to take that journey with the writers, as well."

ABC's NASHVILLE to pay dividends for decades, film professor says
"It gives Nashville a new cache, refreshes it and shows a different side of Nashville, making Nashville a celebrity itself again with a new broader audience," Billy Pittard, department chair for electronic media communication at Middle Tennessee State University, said. "It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to completely measure the impact, but this is going to pay off for decades because now it's on people's minds."

Hayden Panettiere on Her Hopes for a Second Season of NASHVILLE and Why She's Not Taylor Swift
Panettiere credits her expanded role to the show’s audience—“They’re the ones who decide what story lines they like”—which is a diplomatic way of saying that Juliette gets all the fun scenes. This is hard to dispute: In the time it’s taken for Rayna to sleep with one man, or for ­Scarlett (NASHVILLE's other blonde ingenue) to break up with one boyfriend and land another, Juliette has seduced Rayna’s songwriting partner, shoplifted, stormed out of an interview with GOOD MORNING AMERICA, married and divorced an NFL quarterback, and had a business-plus-pleasure relationship with her addict mother’s sober companion. Panettiere doesn’t blink an eye at that list, or at the prospect of more misbehavior. “Oh, I’m game for anything,” she says.

NASHVILLE producer confident filming stays local if renewed
Loucas George said he has been working with city and state officials concerning film incentives. In its first year, the show had incentives accounting for 32 percent of its Tennessee-based costs, a combination of a state grant and an additional tax credit. Recent legislation changed the film incentive structure from 32 percent to up to 25 percent, allowing more films to be eligible. NASHVILLE producers have sought to convince state officials to grandfather in the show for the full 32 percent in future years.

"The city has been great with us, the state has been great with us," he said. "We are all hoping to get it if ABC is going to see the light."

George said the show, if renewed, has secured the 25 percent incentive and the city and state are working to make up the seven percent difference. That incentive "makes a big difference" in decisions for the show, he said.

Callie Khouri is hopeful NASHVILLE will return
Production schedules for TV may be “way faster than features,” she says, but it’s also “so much fun. If you’re even the slightest bit ADD, it’s the perfect job.”