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Nashville is back!

The first look at the upcoming season was released on Thursday (October 20) and features a whole heck of a lot of drama!

In the first official promo for season 5, fan favorites Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, and Charles Esten are back and better than ever!

Earlier this year, Nashville was canceled by ABC before finding a new home on CMT.

Also confirmed to return to season 5 are Sam Palladio, Jonathan Jackson, Clare Bowen, Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella, Chris Carmack, Will Chase, and Aubrey Peeples.

Season 5 will feature 22 episodes and will return on January 5, 2017 at 9pm EST.

Watch the first promo for season 5 of Nashville below!

ARE YOU EXCITED for Nashville‘s return?!

Connie Britton may not be returning for the entirety of Nashville season five after all.

Sources tell EW that the star of the show – who plays the role of famous country singer Rayna James – has only signed on for 10 episodes out of the 22 total for the season. Sources add that execs remain hopeful Connie will sign on for all 22, but a deal has not been made at this time.

Hayden Panettiere, the show’s other star, is on board for all 22 episodes. It’s unclear how Rayna’s absence will be explained.

The site also reports that Connie is likely to exit the show after season 5.

Nashville officially has a season five premiere date at CMT!

The Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere-drama will debut on January 5 in a special two hour premiere.

Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, Jonathan Jackson, Clare Bowen, Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella and Chris Carmack will all return as series regulars, with Will Chase and Aubrey Peeples also making appearances.

Nashville was cancelled at ABC after four seasons, and picked up by CMT soon after.

Be sure to tune into the two hour premiere of Nashville on Thursday, January 5 at 9pm EST.

ABC president Channing Dungey spoke about the cancellations of Nashville and Castle at the network’s TCA today.

“Nashville is a show that I personally truly loved,” Channing said. “To not have it back was a little bit of heartbreak for me. I’m thrilled the show has found a new home on CMT so now that I can keep watching it”

Channing also discussed the shocking Castle cancellation after not renewing Stana Katic‘s contract.

“So that’s a case where you have things running on two parallel tracks. We were always upfront about possibility that we might not be bringing show back for season nine…Ultimately for us we felt it was not the right thing to do to order another season,” she added.

Nashville has been confirmed to return to CMT for season five, and now we have a list of the returning cast members!

Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere are both set to return for the 22-episode season, TV Line has learned.

Also set to appear on the show are Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, Jonathan Jackson, Clare Bowen, Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella and Chris Carmack. Will Chase and Aubrey Peeples will not be back as series regulars at this time.

The show was cancelled by ABC last month.

Nashville will look a little different when it debuts on CMT.

Actors Will Chase (Luke) and Aubrey Peeples (Layla) are no longer series regulars on the show, according to TVLine.com.

This news comes after Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick were named the new executive producers.

Nashville will return for a fifth season on CMT and be available for streaming on Hulu after being cancelled by ABC.

In case you missed it, find out what happened in the shocking season four finale!

WHAT DO YOU THINK about these two actors exiting the series?

The news Nashville fans have been waiting for has arrived – CMT is renewing the show for a fifth season!

The beloved series will return for a fifth season that will be broadcast on CMT and streamed on Hulu thanks to a unique deal that was reached on Thursday (June 9) after weeks of negotiations, according to Tennessean.

The show was canceled by ABC after a four-season run due to the ratings not being up to par, but fans of the show banded together and launched a social media campaign to save the country music-focused drama.

WHAT DID YOU THINK of Nashville coming back?