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Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
The folks in Nashville don’t just sing country songs. They live them.
It’s full of cheatin’ hearts and achin’ souls, of drink-filled Saturday nights and prayer-rich Sunday mornings. Why, the show itself even moved on like a country music heroine, breaking up with old flame ABC and setting up shop with CMT just ’round the corner. The only thing we’re really missing in Nashville is a dead dog and a broken-down truck. But give it time.
Nashville is a blend of soapy romance, big-business intrigue and some honest-to-goodness country music crooning. But while the drama may still have its new-series smell—at least on CMT— the central premise is as old as country music itself.
At the beginning of the show’s run Rayna was an aging star struggling to keep her place in country music’s firmament. She’s still got the pipes and still commands respect. But her records aren’t selling like they used to.
Juliette Barnes was everything Rayna wasn’t: young, hip and oh-so popular. All the tweens go crazy for her sassy pop-country style, and industry execs just love her figure—or rather, her figures. She makes them money. They make her records. But that’s not enough for Juliette: She wants respect. She wants confirmation that she’s a legitimate musician, not some sort of fad. But a brush with death forced her to reexamine her priorities.
But things change after Rayna dies unexpectedly at the end of season five. And now, as the series comes to a close in season six, it’s evident that in Nashville heartbreak has always been just one verse (or episode) away. And with new characters always hopping into the show’s soapy surroundings, there have been plenty of excuses to stir the proverbial pot.
If you’re familiar with country music, or if you wander over to the Plugged In’s music section and check out a sampling of Adam Holz’s country music reviews, you know that the genre is a mixed bag. Musicians play plenty of lip service to down-home values and front-porch charm, and you’ll hear way more references to prayer and the Almighty than you’ll ever find on, say, Lady Gaga’s latest track. But if one song is full of apple pie and grandpa’s wisdom, the next could be swimming in whiskey and a cloud of marijuana smoke.
So it stands to reason that Nashville—a show predicated on the country music business—would share some of that moral schizophrenia.
People divorce and remarry here faster than you can switch tracks on Spotify. Eyes wander, hearts cheat, and there’s always another love knot to untangle just around the corner—sometimes between a couple of guys.
But even as a same-sex relationship spends time in the spotlight, so does the healing power of God. When Juliette is mysteriously rescued from a plane crash, she searches obsessively for her savior. She eventually finds Hallie, a devout Baptist who volunteers regularly at the church and tells Juliette, “I’ve been praying for you.” When Juliette confesses to Hannah that she wonders why she—being the horrible person she’s been—didn’t die in that plane crash instead of all the good people who did, Hallie tells her that perhaps God was giving her a chance to change.
“If I started praying now, God would just laugh,” Juliette says.
“Not the God I know,” Hallie tells her.
Even when God isn’t a part of the proceedings, Nashville still embraces strong, timeless values like hard work, charity and family. It suggests love and forgiveness can go a long way to curing the ills of this world.
And all that’s great, of course. We don’t see that sort of honest good will on, say, Game of Thrones. It’s just a shame that the show requires plenty of forgiveness itself.
In the series finale, Deacon is presented with an offer to go on tour. Avery must decide if he wants to be with Juliette, who is hiding a secret. Brad Maitland tries to forcefully seduce Alannah. Maddie decides to follow her heart and Daphne competes in a singing competition.
Deacon’s father, who has struggled with alcohol for a long time, tries to reconnect with his son and granddaughters. A custody battle puts a teenage boy in an unfavorable situation. A girl jumps into a relationship against her better judgement. A man forces himself on a woman and tells her that unless she agrees to sex, he will ruin her career. Later, she presses charges against him. Couples kiss, a woman is kissed unwantedly, others embrace and two men hold hands. Women wear revealing outfits and one woman punches a man in the face. People drink beer, cry, lie and cheat. God’s name is misused once and other language includes “d–n,” “p-ss” and “a–.”
In the wake of the tragic death of his wife, Rayna, Deacon is now with singer/songwriter Jessie, back in town after a few years away. He takes an interest in Jessie’s son, Jake, too—encouraging his musical passion when Jake’s father dismisses it. But with Deacon’s new relationship and with Deacon’s daughter Maddie now dating singer Jonah Ford, her single sister, Daphne, feels like she’s the odd girl out
Deacon and Jessie kiss multiple times, and both have their shirts removed (revealing Jessie’s bra). It apparently leads to sex (though we don’t see anything).
Maddie visits Jonah in Miami (it’s inferred they’re sleeping with one another and they kiss multiple times). But fame has Jonah preoccupied, so Maddie stays with Jonah’s friends while he leaves for interviews. His friends throw a house party and people eat ‘shrooms, get high, drink and wear revealing clothing. Jonah’s friend, Twig, and Maddie bond as she helps him recover from a high.
Gunnar, Avery and Will used to be individual artists and have recently become a band. They realize they need a girl to join them and they find Alannah, a talented and mysterious musician, asking her to come on board. Gunnar and Alannah are also casually sleeping together in a non-defined relationship (they kiss often and she’s seen in her bra). But Alannah also has dinner with her ex (though we don’t see the actual dinner).
Aver, Juliette’s husband, is alone with their daughter as Juliette has run off to Bolivia to “The Movement For Coherent Philosophy.” She later tells him she won’t be returning.
Women wear clothing revealing cleavage and open backs, and people often consume beer and other hard liquor. People slip into bed with one another and make sexual and suggestive comments. Tempers run high between friends, family members and lovers, and Maddie tells Jonah “I hate you.” Someone nearly faints while running.
The words “h—” and “b–ch” are heard once.
Ashley, a YouTube music sensation, arrives at Highway 65 to cut her first traditional album and immediately upends the studio. Her producer, Avery, quits because of her bratty ways. She clashes with studio intern Maddie, daughter of Rayna and her longtime lover and newish husband, Deacon. And when Maddie lashes out at Ashley, Maddie’s summarily fired.
Meanwhile, Juliette is struggling with being wheelchair-bound after her terrible plane crash. But she finds help, and new hope, in Hallie, the woman who pulled her from the wreckage. When Juliette wonders aloud why she didn’t die, too, Hallie says, “I think Someone wanted you to have a chance to change.” She encourages Juliette to turn to God—clearly the source of Hallie’s own reservoir of strength and good will.
Maddie apologizes to her father, Deacon, for lying about him in court (in a previous episode). “I wish I had been a better dad,” Deacon confesses. “You’re my dad,” Maddie tells him. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
We hear that two male lovers, Will and Kevin, are moving in together. A male barista says that a male singer is “dreamy.” Guys drink beer. Members of a prospective act for Highway 65 insist on keeping their clothes on during any would-be videos—something that Rayna heartily endorses. We hear that someone’s mother died early because of drug addiction. Juliette’s baby girl, Avery, wets on her mom—a moment of curious celebration, because Juliette can actually feel it on her paralyzed leg.
Maddie asks her young sister, Daphne, if she’s becoming a “b–ch.” “A little,” Daphne admits. We also hear that word used a couple of other times, as well as “a–,” “d–n,” “h—” and “crap.” God’s name is misused a dozen or so times, once with the word “d–n.”
“I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You)”
Juliette films a music video wearing short shorts and a skimpy top. (Her background dancers are dressed much the same.) And never mind that her music’s wildly popular with kids, her latest song includes lines like, “You left your secrets in my bed.”
Juliette kisses Deacon. And she strips off her shirt (we see her from behind) to go skinny-dipping. Deacon joins her (offscreen). There’s talk of cheating and prostitutes, and of how “hot” people are. Juliette says Rayna and Deacon act like an “old married couple, except with all of the hassle and none of the benefits.” And we see Rayna try to sort out her conflicting emotions related to her husband and Deacon.
Speaking of hubby Teddy, he was apparently involved in some shady business dealings, so we see him burning documents in a fireplace. And Rayna’s powerful father Lamar (whom Rayna hates) hopes to uncover what the secrets are, then use them as leverage.
We see people drink wine, beer and whiskey. A handful of mild profanities include “a‑‑,” “d‑‑n,” “h‑‑‑” and “p‑‑‑ed.” God’s name is misused three or four times.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
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