‘Nashville’ Season 5: How Connie Britton’s Rayna Leaves The Show?

As the country music drama "Nashville" moves from ABC to CMT, some of its cast members are also moving on from the show. Reports revealed that Connie Britton is eyeing an exit from the series.

Connie Britton plays Rayna James, a head of a record label. According to Entertainment Weekly, the 49-year-old actress has only signed on for 10 episodes out of the 22 episodes ordered for the fifth season of "Nashville." Sources told EW though that the show still hopes to have Britton for more episodes.

While Britton's deal is said to be still not final and talks are still ongoing as to how long her commitment will be, some anticipate her possible exit. Fans may already wonder how Rayna will be written off and whether the show can survive without her who has been a central character since "Nashville" started.

TVLine writer Kimberly Roots expects the worst of the worst, which is that Rayna has to be killed off as she believes it is the only believable way for Rayna to go. "But I'm aware that the death of a beloved central character has gotta be catnip to new showrunners Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick, who are known for killing us softly and bathing in our tears," she wrote.

Meanwhile, E! Online said that because Rayna James is a busy person, Britton's character can still remain as part of the show, although she is not necessarily seen for most of the time. This was what happened when Hayden Panettiere took an extended leave due to postpartum depression. Panettiere is more than capable of keeping up the show, plus it can also be an opportunity to shift the focus to other characters of "Nashville."

Hayden Panettiere is going to be in all 22 episodes, along with co-stars Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, Jonathan Jackson, Clare Bowen, Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella and Chris Carmack. Earlier, it was confirmed that Will Chase (Luke) and Aubrey Peeples (Layla), are not coming back to "Nashville" Season 5.

"Nashville" Season 5, which will begin production next month, is slated for a two-hour premiere on Jan. 5, 2017, at 9 p.m. on CMT. The episodes will be available on Hulu the following day.