Fall TV review: ‘Nashville’ too fun not to watch

The last of the high-profile TV’s shows to premiere is “Nashville.” It’s got great credentials.

The show is created by Callie Khouri, the Oscar winning writer of “Thelma and Louise.” It’s musical director is the Oscar -winning T- Bone Brunett, of “O Brother Where Art Thou” and Jeff Bridge’s “Crazy Heart.” And the show stars actress Connie Britton, of “Friday Night Lights” and “American Horror Story” fame.

That’s a whole lot of good people for what’s basically a countrified soap opera. It’s the very definition of “a guilty pleasure,” something that’s silly to take seriously and yet too fun not to watch.

The show opens up at the Grand Ol’ Opry with Connie Britton, the reigning Queen of County, wrapping up her set.

The song she’s singing is cleverly called “I’m Already Gone,” which she practically is, even though she doesn’t know it.

Her upcoming tour is not selling well – meanwhile a hot young thing named Juliet Barnes, played by Hayden Panettiere, is burning up the charts.

Her label eventually tells her she’ll have to tour with Juliet Barnes, even open for her.

The show is set up as a battle of the two divas. Not to be outdone, Hayden Panettiere’s character seduces Britton’s producer and her bandleader – all in the pilot.

And to sweeten the pot further, there’s an even more ingenue ingenue waiting in the wings.

Wow, Nashville is just crawling with singers. Who knew?

To add fuel to the soap opera’s fires, both leads are given problematic families.

Britton’s Daddy in the show is a rich, powerful former mayor played by Powers Boothe, channeling Larry Hagman’s JR. He not only makes her life hell, he manipulates her husband into running for political office, so he’ll have a puppet at City Hall. By the way, that husband of hers is not her true love, it’s her bandleader. That’s right, the bandleader who Panettiere is busy seducing.

As for Panatierre, her mom is some kind of homeless drug addict.

Rich material for dozens of country songs, right?

The second episode airs Wednesday on ABC at 10p.m.