"Nashville" season 5 is set to premiere this December, as revealed by actor Charles Esten, who plays Deacon Claybourne, in a performance at the Grand Ole Opry recently.

The past year has been tumultuous for the country music drama. It can be recalled that the ABC network cancelled the show sometime in May after four seasons due to poor ratings. In June, however, CMT came to pick up the series after a successful social media campaign demanding for its return.

Now that the show has its home in CMT, fans expect the upcoming season to explore new stories as it picks up new momentum. Show creator Callie Khouri recently revealed that season 5 will deal with more authentic representations of the things that are happening in the music industry. She also said that the new series will explore how the industry is starting to collapse, as well as the struggles that musicians face just to make a living. Furthermore, it will tackle how the increasing presence of music services such as Spotify and Pandora bankrupt the music industry.

Season 4 ended with a major cliffhanger when Juliette Barnes' plane went missing. It is expected that the premiere episode of season 5 will circle back to the incident and reveal the fate of the fan-favorite singer. However, the return of Hayden Panettiere comes with sad news, as Aubrey Peeples and Will Chase are already saying goodbye to the show. The two characters are the only exiting regulars in season 5.

CMT has yet to announce the exact premiere date of the series.