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Connie Britton has consistently been a cornerstone of every television series she graces as a regular cast member, from her role as Nikki Faber in “Spin City” to the iconic Tami Taylor in “Friday Night Lights.” This was no different in ABC’s enduring series “Nashville,” where she captivated audiences as Rayna James, the fictional Queen of Country, for five seasons spanning 2012 to 2017. Ultimately, Britton chose to step away from the show, a decision she discussed in a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. While she kept her reasons somewhat private, she highlighted timing as a significant factor in her departure.
ABC
“What was really important to me was that it felt like the right time. There were a lot of different factors that played into it; it was a cumulative thing,” Britton shared. “For me, it felt like the timing was important and my number one priority was the show and making sure that it was done in the right way.”
Britton’s exit required a narrative that honored her character while blending seamlessly into the show’s ongoing storylines. This led to a difficult but necessary decision—the only feasible way to write Rayna James out of “Nashville” was through her character’s death. Thus, in Season 5’s emotional Episode 9, “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” Rayna succumbs to complications from a car crash-induced injury.
Co-showrunner Marshall Herskowitz, also speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, explained the exhaustive efforts made to find an alternative exit for Rayna. The writing team explored every potential plot scenario to avoid killing off her character. However, given Rayna’s deep-rooted ties to her family—her husband Deacon, played by Charles Esten, and daughters Maddie (Lennon Stella) and Daphne (Maisy Stella)—keeping her alive yet absent from their lives felt implausible and dishonest to her character’s essence.
Furthermore, with Season 5 divided into two parts separated by a three-month hiatus, the show’s creators wanted to ensure that audiences weren’t left in suspense. Therefore, Rayna’s death was strategically placed in Episode 9, allowing fans ample time to grieve and adjust. Herskowitz noted, “We worked out a structure that gave us the time, the number of episodes to have the death, have the immediate reaction to the death and then have this sense of at least the beginnings of what life will be like without Rayna.”
Connie Britton’s departure was a well-thought-out farewell to her character and to the fans
ABC
As co-showrunner Marshall Herskowitz said in the same 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the writing team exhausted every scenario plot-wise to not kill Connie Britton’s character and find another way to have Rayna exit the world of “Nashville” — but nothing worked. Given how much she loved her family, there was no way Rayna could stay alive without being in contact with her husband, Deacon (Charles Esten), and two daughters, Maddie (Lennon Stella) and Daphne (Maisy Stella). In any case, that would’ve betrayed the core of the character; thus, the only plausible option left was to end her life.
However, since Season 5 was split in half with a three-month break, the creators wanted to make sure viewers weren’t left hanging at the end of the first half of the season. They made the decision to have Rayna perish in Episode 9 in order to give fans time to process her death and say goodbye. As Herskowitz explained, “We worked out a structure that gave us the time, the number of episodes to have the death, have the immediate reaction to the death and then have this sense of at least the beginnings of what life will be like without Rayna.”
That approach worked since the episode of Rayna’s death and the two that followed it have become some of the highest-rated ones in the series’ history. Like in other popular shows where a fan-favorite character has to leave in such a devastating way (as Dr. Mark Greene did in “ER”), having a carefully-built strategy can lead to a deeply emotional and satisfying outcome.
