Nellie Andreeva

Connie Britton NashvilleFriday Night Lights alumna Connie Britton has closed a deal to star in ABC’s drama pilot Nashville, after lengthy negotiations. Written by Callie Khouri, directed by R.J. Cutler and produced by Lionsgate and ABC Studios, Nashville is described as a family soap about love, country music, family, politics and sex, all set against the backdrop of the Nashville music scene. It centers on 40-year-old Nashville fading superstar Rayna James (Britton) whose label requires her to team up with teen sensation Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) on tour–or else face the loss of her own tour and the label’s promotion of her latest record, whose sales have been underwhelming. Complicating things for Rayna, a married mother of two, is that she is the family’s sole breadwinner. This marks Britton’s return to broadcast television after recently starring on the first season of FX’s anthology horror drama American Horror Story. She previously toplined with Kyle Chandler Friday Night Lights, reprising the role she created in the hit Peter Berg movie of the same name. The drama series, which originated on NBC before migrating to DirecTV, earned Britton two Emmy nominations. On the big screen Britton, repped by WME and Untitled Entertainment, will next be seen in Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World opposite Keira Knightly and Steve Carell.

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