Ahead of the premiere of the ABC series 9-1-1 Nashville, we had the chance to be boots-on-the-ground — attending the red carpet and talking to the cast of the TV drama.
With the new show set and filmed in Music City, many country fans will be eager to tune in.
It’s already been announced that Kane Brown will make a special cameo during the season.
Not only does his scene appear in the show’s main promo trailer, but fans also captured behind-the-scenes footage of the production filming Brown’s appearance in Nashville back in August.
As for another country star, LeAnn Rimes is set to play Dixie, a fiery and memorable character in the series.
During an interview with US Weekly, Rimes shared that the role excited her because it gave her the chance to step into a personality unlike any she’s ever portrayed before.
“[Playing Dixie Bennings], I get to let out a side of myself that doesn’t ever come out in real life, so it’s very healing in that way. It was definitely a stretch for me,” she told the outlet. “Dixie is obsessed with her son. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for him as a single mom. But she definitely feels like she’s been slighted in life. She will go to every extreme to get what she feels like she’s owed — including manipulating his love.”
Related: Brad Paisley’s Wife Throws A ‘9-1-1 Nashville’ Premiere Party
Chris O’Donnell plays Don Hart, a fire captain who runs the busiest firehouse in Nashville. He shared that many of the scenes viewers will see of the crew in action are real — the cast is doing a lot of their own stunts.
“We rescued some people out of a water park’s water slide,” he recalls. “I thought these were going to be eight- or nine-year-olds, but instead they were 25- to 30-year-olds. I don’t have a great back to begin with, and they wanted me to pull them out of this thing.”
Don’t worry — O’Donnell’s back wasn’t hurt during filming, and he joked that he definitely put in the physical work.
“I had to carry them down the ladder,” he says with a smile. “I wasn’t walking well the next couple of days.”
O’Donnell is a veteran when it comes to television dramas. One of his most notable roles was playing G. Callen on NCIS: Los Angeles. Although he’s been part of many shows similar to 9-1-1 Nashville, he says there’s something about this project that feels like a breath of fresh air both professionally and personally.
“This has been a great change of pace,” he begins. “It was a little bit like Groundhog Day the last 15 years in L.A., doing the same thing, which I do love so much. My family and kids are there, but every vacation, we were on a schedule.”
Right before filming, O’Donnell was personally affected by the Pacific Palisades fires in California.
“Everything changed this past January when the fires hit and burned down our town,” he shares. “The show ended and all of a sudden I’m in a new city… change is good. That’s been a huge reformation.”
O’Donnell’s on-screen wife, Jessica Capshaw — who plays Blythe Hart — is best known for her role as Arizona Robbins on the hit series Grey’s Anatomy. Now, she’s trading in her scrubs and hospital drama for Southern charm, drama and pearls.
Playing a role that’s wrapped up in the drama of the who’s-who of society, Capshaw jokes that she’d rather deal with that than the pressure of a hospital setting.
“The medical requires a level of concentration, and I think the Southern politics have to do with personal relationships,” she shares. “I think you can kind of round out the edges when you’re working with that, but you don’t want to approximate medicine. No one wants a doctor who is kind of feeling their way through it.”
9-1-1 Nashville airs Thursdays on ABC at 9PM ET/PT.
Meet the Cast of ‘9-1-1: Nashville’
The popular ABC show 9-1-1 is getting a country spinoff! 9-1-1 Nashville is set to premiere on Oct. 9, 2025, with some familiar faces on the screen.
Let’s meet some of the cast members, including some recognizable names in the world of country music.
