Santa came early for fans of the hot music drama NashvilleCMT, the show's new network, just dropped a two-minute trailer for the upcoming season, as well an early airdate for the first half of the season premiere.

By the look of it, the drama will be bigger and better than ever as old love reignites and new love sparks a flame. After the previous season's nail-biting finale, the opening episode is certain to  be filled with surprises.

Season 5 will begin "with Rayna and Deacon facing a new normal with Maddie back home and Highway 65 struggling financially. The shocking news about Juliette creates a wave of emotions throughout Nashville and sets Rayna off on a journey of discovery."

CMT will sneak the first hour of the two-hour Nashville premiere on Dec. 15 at 9PM ET. The entire episode will premiere on Jan. 5 at 9PM ET.

Executive producer of the show Callie Khouri is promising for some big surprises in the forthcoming season.

“We’re staying away from the ‘that would never happen’ stuff,” she tells the Tennessean. “It is a lot more grounded in character. We’re telling stories about characters that we love. I think it’s more emotional, less soap opera, but it’s still delivering dramatic stories.”

Khouri hinted at more of the plot during the 2016 Tennessee Screenwriting Association Seminar over the summer.

“One thing I would like to deal with is the collapse of the music business and just how hard it is,” she shares. “This stuff is really hard. You can’t just put out a record and suddenly it’s No. 1 and all of a sudden they’re big stars. That’s not how it happens. So, I think we are going to deal more with the struggle of it. I think that’s a truer representation of what’s really going on. And I think the public should be aware of the fact that what’s common practice out in the universe paying for Spotify or Pandora is bankrupting the music industry.”

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