All About Connie (Television Review: Nashville, Wednesdays on ABC)

After watching the third episode of the new television show, Nashville, I still don't know how I truly feel about it. I have watched it, and it has kept me interested enough, but I can't say I am loving it enough to watch the episodes right away. I feel my emotional involvement with it isn't as strong. And I cannot understand why. What I do know, though, is that Connie Britton is a force of nature here. She smolders in her role as Rayna James, a Country Superstar. Rayna is experiencing some challenges: her label is now gravitating towards Juliet Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) who is the new hot young thing in country music. And her husband has started to run for Mayor of Nashville, against a friend of hers and her family. Rayna has her plate full, and Britton provides just the right balance for her character: strong without getting too overbearing, stubborn in her strength which makes her flawed enough to be real. A lot of people are already talking Emmy for her in this role, rightly so. But I am also quite impressed with Panetierre. I thought she would be just middling in her role: a young brat diva. But she has shown surprising humanity, perhaps aided by a well-drawn script. It's definitely a three-dimensional character and she is convincing. The storylines verge on soap-operaish, and some twists and turns are predictable. But these two women keep on pulling me back. I just wish I was more invested, but there's enough here to still see.