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'Nashville' season 5 air date, spoilers, news & update: return of Will Chase; Beyonce guest starring?

Jackie Villegas November 17, 2016 12:08 AM EST

Promotional image for the CMT drama series \"Nashville\" | Facebook/Nashville

Will Chase is the latest "Nashville" cast member whose participation in the upcoming season 5 has been confirmed.

Chase played the role of Luke Wheeler, Rayna James' (Connie Britton) ex-fiancee and the biggest male country artist in the popular musical drama. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Chase and co-star Aubrey Peeples were the first two cast members to be cut from the series after its shift to CMT.

The downsizing of the cast was reportedly an attempt by the producers to bring down the production costs for the upcoming "Nashville" season 5. "Nashville" was cancelled after four seasons by ABC but the series was saved by CMT..

While Chase's stint as a series regular on "Nashville" may be over, recent tweets indicate that his character will somehow be in the upcoming season 5. Earlier this month, "Nashville" cast member Chris Carmack, who plays Will Lexington, shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the season 5 set. Carmack and Chase posed for the camera in the snap, which Carmack captioned "It's always a good day opening up for Luke Wheeler! "

Based on the actor's tweet, it can be assumed that Luke and Will, who were rivals, have worked out their differences, and that Will is set to be the opening act in one of Luke's concerts.

After Carmack posted the snap, Chase retweeted it, writing, "Felt good to put the boots back on and always great to see YOU brother!"

Meanwhile, it appears that apart from retaining most of its longtime cast members for season 5, "Nashville" could also feature at least one surprising addition. There are rumors that singer/songwriter Beyonce could appear in a guest role in the upcoming season. After Beyonce's controversial performance at the Country Music Association Awards earlier this month, CMT executives are reportedly eager to cast the "Sorry" singer and benefit from the publicity that the casting will undoubtedly incur. As for Beyonce, the multi-awarded singer is said to have her sights on an Emmy win in next year's ceremony.

"Nashville" season 5 kicks off with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, at 9 p.m. EST on CMT.

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