Six seasons, two networks and one leading lady’s sudden death later, the complicated crooners of CMT’sNashvilletook their final curtain call.
Thursday night’s series finale concluded with Deacon (Charles Esten) performing his ballad about the simple things, “A Life That’s Good,” with his father. The rest of the drama’s musicians like Juliette (Hayden Panettiere), Scarlett (Clare Bowen), Avery (Jonathan Jackson) and Gunnar (Sam Palladio) gradually join him on stage. The camera pulls back, breaking the fourth wall to reveal the entire set. Their characters melt away, and suddenly they’re themselves, actors relishing one last jam session. The crew comes, out, too, and Connie Britton — who played country queen Rayna James until 2017 andreturned in a tender finale flashback— takes her rightful place center-stage.“Rayna got to do the impossible. She got to come back from the dead,” Britton, 51, said in a statement. “I got to do the most wonderful, which was to go back to myNashvillefamily and celebrate all the hard work and love and care that went into that show. Being on the Ryman stage, reunited with 6 years of cast and crew, is a moment I’ll cherish and never forget. I am grateful.”
And 52-year-old Esten — who’s nowon toursinging songs fromNashville— opened up to PEOPLE about his thoughts on the finale, Britton’s return and what’s next.
Mark Levine/ABC/Getty
Describe filming that final scene.
We’ve always walked that line between scenes and songs, between a dramatic performance and a musical performance, so in one sense between a show and a long concert. And what happens at the end of a long concert that you have a lot of acts in? What happens is everybody comes out and they do one last song together. And I thought, that’s kind of a neat, beautiful, fitting way to end.
How did it feel having Connie back on set?
In terms of what Rayna means to the show, and also in terms of what Connie means to the show, and also in terms of [her] as a friend and as somebody who was there from the very, very beginning, it was fantastic and gave a sense of closure.
What was it like watching Lennon and Maisy Stella grow up on-set?
Oh, that’s the part that I think makes me the most emotional. It’s funny because so much of what you see on screen is not fully acting; there’s moments where I’m watching one of them perform, and I’m not fully acting there. I’m like the surrogate dad that is sitting there watching them. So all that that you see in Deacon’s eyes, the lines share that as mine as well. And I’m just very, very proud of them.
What’s next in your acting career?
I’ve been very fortunate already; I’ve already started working onTell Me Your Secrets, the TNT show. I’ll be recurring on that I think basically about seven out of the 10 episodes on this first season. And I wasn’t necessarily going to start something rather this quickly, I was going to take a little minute, do some tours, play some music, but they were very, very kind and moved around the existing dates I already had.
It’s definitely a departure for me and forNashvillefans — they might want to be warned that it’s a little bit more of a thriller, it can get a lot darker. Deacon had his darkness things but ultimately it was always heartwarming, and there’s always certainly a ton of emotion and warmth in that show, but it is a thriller that can go to some dark places.
What is your favorite song that Deacon’s ever performed?
It’s always been “The Life That’s Good.” When I saw that we were finishing with that — there might’ve been talk of something else — and I was like no, there’s nothing else it could be.
It started off as Deacon’s song that Maddie found on an old CD, and when Deacon wrote that and performed it all those years ago, that was a far-off dream to have those things. Everybody on that show is looking for and fighting for all that Music City can offer in terms of fames, record sales, wealth and all those things. If you watch the show, we’re all doing that, but again and again on the show, real life leads us to understand that maybe that’s not the most important thing, maybe if you’re going to list the important things it’s just a handful of those things. The chorus says “Two arms around me, heaven to ground me, a family that always calls me home, four wheels to get there, enough love to share, and a sweet, sweet song.”
It’s a cool way to end, so there we are, getting back to how we started. If the whole show’s a concert, oddly that’s the final song we end up singing.
What happened when you learnedNashvillewas ending?
source: people.com
