‘Nashville’ Season 5 Cast: [Spoiler] Who Replaces Rayna On Show? Deacon Finds New Soulmate?

Regardless of who exits, the show must always go on. With this motto, "Nashville" Season 5 is moving forward. But will the showrunners bring a fresh face to fill the gap left by Rayna's death?

Killing off the lead of a highly successful TV drama, especially one like Rayna (Connie Britton), who is loved by millions of fans, is never a good idea. But "Nashville" Season 5 took that risk. Now, the question running to through everyone's minds is - Do the creators assign the character of Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) the lead role, or cast someone new to replace Rayna?

Many shows have tried replacing the lead with an old face, which ranks second-favorite in the hearts of their fans, including "The Vampire Diaries." After the much controversial exit of Elena (Nina Dobrev) from TVD in the last episode of Season 6, Caroline Forbes (Candice King) became the unofficial lead of the show. However, she was unable to recreate the magic that Elena had created, earlier in the show.

As a result, "The Vampire Diaries" is set to wrap up after Season 8, and as a last treat for its fans, the showrunner has decided to bring Elena back for the series finale. However, this was possible only because, unlike "Nashville", instead of killing off the character of Elena, TVD chose to cast her in a deep, magical sleep, with some "conditions applied".

"Nashville" Season 5, on the other hand, has no way of bringing the character of Rayna back, since it was made clear in episode 9 that Rayna's wounds, sustained from the car crash, were far too fatal, Gosh! TV reported. The sneak-peek for episode 10 even shows a funeral organized for Rayna, where everyone is seen grieving her death.

However, "Nashville" is not going to repeat the mistake that "The Vampire Diaries" did. Instead of running with a familiar face, showrunners Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick are going to cast a fresh female actress. But, as to who the new entry might be, the creators are keeping tight-lipped.

"I just can't comment," Herskovitz told TVLine. "This has always been an article of faith between Ed Zwick and me, that we feel that the experience of watching a show is altered when you know what's coming. The most important thing for us is the audience's experience of the show itself."

There is also a fair chance that Deacon (Charles Esten), after a proper period of mourning, might find himself with a new soul mate. Will the new addition be able to recreate the chemistry that Deacon and Rayna were known for?