NASHVILLE — Tornadoes, fires and explosive family drama.
“9-1-1: Nashville” is the latest in Ryan Murphy’s franchise about heroic emergency responders.
We headed down to Nashville to meet the star-studded cast of the show, which includes everyone from Hollywood veterans to country music superstars to TV newcomers.
They told me: hold tight to that cowboy hat, because things are about to get fiery in Music City.
“Anything is possible and you should expect the unexpected,” says actor Chris O’Donnell.
From film to TV to the stage, O’Donnell’s career spans near four decades. Now, he’s Captain Don Hart in “9-1-1 Nashville.”
“There’s the excitement, the action, the fire team,” O’Donnell says. “Anything can happen.”
Michael Provost plays his son, Lieutenant Ryan Hart. Together they run Nashville’s busiest firehouse.
“Expect high octane rescues, juicy family drama,” Provost says.
Jessica Capshaw rounds out the Hart family, as mom, Blythe Hart.
“She deals in horse racing and there’s a whiskey business,” Capshaw says “It’s a pretty high stakes environment for her at all times.”
The city of Nashville is another main character in the show.
“There’s so much good food and there’s so much good music and the show plays with that,” says Provost. “It’s definitely music heavy. We’ve got a few singers in the cast.”
Among them is Grammy Award-winning country music singer, LeAnn Rimes, who plays Dixie Bennings.
“I mean, it’s Nashville, so we’re definitely going to have music in the show,” says Rimes. “My character is a singer. I get to have a little bit of fun with my voice on the show.”
She calls her character a “master manipulator.”
“I think this show is a little bit more soapy,” says Rimes. “I would have to say there’s a lot more drama than what you see on 9-1-1.”
Her son, stripper-turned-firefighter Blue Bennings is played by model and fitness influencer Hunter McVey. This is his first TV role.
“Being someone who had never acted before and is very new, obviously I was very nervous coming into it. They make me feel at home every single day and it’s quickly turned into a family,” he says.
And it turns out, this family has a little secret that will all be revealed in episode one.
“The family drama is what’s a little different with this show and the tensions are building,” says O’Donnell. “There’s a lot going on in this family.”
Kimberly Williams-Paisley is a Nashville native and she’s been welcoming the cast and crew to her home town.
“I’m so happy to be working here and to just have all these great people coming to town and telling some Nashville stories,” she says. “It’s really exciting.”
She plays 9-1-1 dispatcher Cammie Raleigh. Being on set at the firehouse in Nashville also feels close to home for Paisley.
“My brother was a firefighter in town, so I feel also like it’s a tribute to these first responders” she says. “And to have the music element underneath it all is really fantastic.”
Besides Rimes, Broadway star and recording artist Hailey Kilgore is also part of the cast. She plays firefighter Taylor Thompson.
“This is my first primetime television show,” says Kilgore. “I’m even more excited and grateful because I grew up watching Ryan Murphy television.”
Kilgore will also be performing on the show. And also look for a cameo from country superstar, Kane Brown.
The cast says this is a hold onto your horse kind of ride!
“We have the craziest emergencies, heightened of course, because that is the 9-1-1 universe,” says Juani Feliz, who plays paramedic Dr. Roxie Alba. “There is a lot of drama and juicy twists in the storylines. I think with all the characters, there’s going to be a peeling back of layers.”
“9-1-1: Nashville” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ABC.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of this ABC station.
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