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'Nashville' season 5 release date, plot news 2016: To explore Rayna's comeback as a performer

Sheanne Aguila August 18, 2016 04:02 AM EST

Promotional image for former ABC drama \"Nashville\" | Facebook/NashvilleABC

Months after being picked up by CMT, "Nashville" season 5 has been officially set to premiere later this year.

While attending last week's Grant Ole Opry concert headlined by "Nashville" star Charles Esten, series creator Callie Khouri reportedly announced that the former ABC drama will debut this December on CMT and Hulu.

According to TVLine, CMT initially planned 22 episodes for the upcoming season after ABC decided to cancel the series. Hulu will stream each episode a day after it airs on the network, as indicated in the deal. Actresses Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton both confirmed that they will reprise their roles as Juliette Barnes and Rayna James. Clare Bowen who plays Scarlett O'Connor, and Chip Esten who plays Deacon Claybourne, will also come back as regulars.

Unfortunately, Will Chase and Aubrey Peeples, who played Luke Wheeler and Layla Grant, will no longer return and will be written off the story.

Speaking with Hollywood Life, CMT's head of development Jayson Dinsmore shared his hope that they will not lose any more of the program's main cast members. "When we announced that we picked it up we had several of the cast members onstage with us at CMA's Best last week," Dinsmore said. "We had Chip [Esten] and Claire [Bowen], so our expectation and our hope is that everyone will participate in this next cycle," he added.

Season 5 will see Rayna try to get her groove back as a performer. Her career may be on hold, but a mysterious character will help her make a comeback. TV Guide reports that Rayna will meet a "young app developer" who is also a great fan of her work. He intends to make Rayna's music known to the younger generation, but it will be later revealed that he has more wicked plans for her.

CMT has yet to announce a premiere date for the fifth season of "Nashville."

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