Sandy Update, Guilty Pleasure—Nashville

Hurricane Sandy has been downright ferocious. And like many of you, I was affected. Without power since Monday night, I finally fled the northeast and headed home to Virginia for a few luxury like electricity and heat. Needless to say, I didn’t get to see any television. Now that my remote is back in hand, I caught up with one of my guilty little pleasures—Nashville.

Hurricane Sandy has got life so topsy turvy that I must admit seeing the star of the show, Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) interviewed by Robin Roberts of Good Morning America (who is out on medical leave) and seeing background shots of New York, knowing that the city is devastated, dark and partially under water was a bit awkward. But it’s TV and we know this scene was filmed months ago.
To be honest, I wasn’t going to confess to watching Nashville. But I love it. I even caught myself humming that, Fade Into You song (I really want a Sade or Erykah Badu version of that). The premise is that a classic, legendary country singer is being out-shined by the new “It-girl” country singer of the moment. Her label is asking her to join tours and open for this youngin’ or they will pull support on her latest record.

You don’t have to be a country music fan to get this. Just plug in the name of your favorite singer that can “sang” and whoever is hot on the airwaves at the moment. Of course the new teen-idol has no respect for those who have paved the way for her or anything else. Throw in a drug-addict mom, fans catching candid shots on camera phones, politics, forbidden loves, and family secrets. I am hooked.

Now what I wasn’t expecting was a diverse cast. Yes, I know that Nashville is a city with all kinds of folk, but I wasn’t expecting the show to give us that Nashville. So was I surprised to see a sister baring arms like FLOTUS on the fourth episode. She’s the publicist for Miss Top-Of-The-Charts and tries her best to guide her through what should have been an image-saving interview with Robin Roberts.