Plot synopsis
" Nashville” is from the creators of MTV’s " Laguna Beach,” and viewers will instantly recognize the similarities. It’s a reality show but shot to resemble a drama, a la “ Beach” and “The Hills.”

The show follows four guys and four gals as they try to make it in the music scene in Nashville. Among others there’s Chuck Wick, a recently signed artist; Rachel Bradshaw, daughter of former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who wants to make it without using the power of her family name; Matt Jenkins, an artist recently dropped by his label; and Sarah Gunsolus, Rachel’s best friend, who may be more concerned with the social scene in Tennessee than with making it in music.

Besides the drama of trying to make music, there’s also the same kind of day-to-day drama that’s found in " Laguna Beach,” from boy-girl relationship issues to catty sequences between competing females.

Outlook
Finding viewers was always going to be tough for " Nashville,” because Fridays traditionally have low viewership, and it's usually even lower among the young viewers the series targets. Last week’s premiere episode posted just a 1.0 rating among viewers 18-49.

The task only figures to get tougher over the coming weeks as the other networks launch their Friday lineups. It will air head-to-head with fellow newcomers “Moonlight” on CBS and “Women’s Murder Club” on ABC, as well as NBC’s “ Las Vegas” and CW’s “Friday Night Smackdown.”

The Buzz
The buzz surrounding " Nashville” hasn’t been great, mainly because of all the things it has working against it. First, its timeslot isn’t particularly desirable, and Friday nights are usually where Fox sends failed shows to burn off episodes, not where it launches promising new ones.

Also, buyers aren’t convinced viewers will be interested in watching a countrified and watered-down version of " Laguna Beach,” at least not on broadcast and not on Friday nights. The feeling seems to be that the show might work better on a cable network where the niche, albeit smaller, audiences would be more likely to gravitate to the show.

“It’s on Friday night, where there’s not a lot of viewership, and I wasn’t tremendously impressed with it,” says one media researcher .

Still, Entertainment Weekly has raved over the show and it got a lot of pre-launch publicity because of its "Laguna" ties.

What Critics Are Saying
“Unlike ‘The Hills,’ the grim touch of the production crew can be felt almost everywhere, from the way singers are shoehorned into one-dimensional roles to a shabby attempt at creating a showmance.” – Mark A. Perigard, Boston Herald

“It does not take place in Southern California, but neither is it set in the hollers and roadhouses where aspiring country musicians might once have parked their banjos. Instead, golden blondes float around pool parties, looking suspiciously coastal and well off. They insist they have their hearts set on careers in country music. But this must be new, new, new Shania-Faith country, the kind that now merits a reality show modeled after the ones that the Cali kids have.” – Virginia Heffernan, The New York Times

“Of this we can be thankful: ' Nashville’ is not another ‘reality competition’ series that littered the summer's television landscape. There are no celebrity judges voting off these crooners, or viewers at home text-messaging in their vote.

“All the slick production values and some decent music in ' Nashville’ can't make up for these one-dimensional subjects, and their angst over their fledgling careers grows tiresome.” -- John Maynard, The Washington Post