While seemingly a unique spin on the franchise,9-1-1: Nashvilleneeds to learn from Jason Lee’s canceled 2010-2011 police procedural if it truly wants to succeed. After9-1-1: Lone Star’s cancelation, a number of fans already weren’t too keen on the idea of a new spinoff. Its title recalling the surname of a controversially deceased flagship character hasn’t helped much.
It’s not easy to promote9-1-1: Nashville’s cast of characters, since few details are known about them except thatthree of the leads will be played by LeAnn Rimes, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and the Robin from Batman’s rubber nipple era. But one hook currently stands to save it from becoming one of the more routine amongRyan Murphy’s TV shows.
9-1-1: Nashville’s Most Unique Hook Is Its Potential Relationship With Country Music
Hailey Kilgore Joins Rimes And Williams-Paisley To Give The Series A Musical Edge
Chris O’Donnell’s protagonist, Don Sharpe has a fairly interesting backstory as a former rodeo man, and it’s exciting to seeGrey’s Anatomy’s Jessica Capshaw appear as his wife. However,the two most compelling names on9-1-1: Nashville’s cast list are LeAnn Rimes and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. These names alone suggest the series may be seriously working country music into its DNA.
That said, not much is known about their characters. It’s known that Rimes is playing a firefighter’s mother, butHailey Kilgore’s character is the only member of9-1-1: Nashville’s cast confirmed to sing in the show. And, while she’s perhaps married to a double-platinum country artist, formerNashvilleguest Kimberly Williams-Paisley only enhances the spinoff’s musical cred by familial association.
Some viewers have speculated that LeAnn Rimes is the one coveringJohnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” in9-1-1: Nashville’s first trailer. If true, this could indicate thatRimes might at least be contributing to the show’s non-diegetic soundtrack. But even if she does sing onscreen, that hook hasn’t always worked in the past, as Jason Lee’sMemphis Beatthoroughly demonstrates.
Jason Lee’s Memphis Beat Featured A Similar Hook – And It Was A Critical Failure
Reviewers Felt It Still Relied Too Much On Typical Cop Show Cliches
From its 2010 premiere to its 2011 cancelation, TNT’Memphis Beatfeatured Jason Lee as Dwight Hendricks, a Memphis police detective who regularly moonlights as a blues musician. Although it had a loyal fanbase and consistent ratings,Memphis Beatwas largely panned by critics for failing to emphasize the best parts of its unique cultural premise over tired procedural cliches.
Even in the first episode, which establishes Dwight’s passion for Memphis culture through a victimized former radio DJ,Memphis Beatoften seemed more inclined to talk about its cultural inspirations than to actually showcase them. This disconnect was widened by the fact that many scenes make it visually apparent the series was filmed nearly 400 miles away in New Orleans.
Moreover, while9-1-1: Nashville’s possible Rob Lowe cameomight earn it some goodwill from franchise fans who care little about its country music connection,Dwight’s musical performances inMemphis Beatwere the only unique hooks of the series. Unfortunately, the use of dubbed-in vocal talent that sounds distractingly nothing like Jason Lee severely undermines the soulfulness of nearly every performance.
It also doesn’t help that a number of musical scenes seem to intentionally put very little camera focus on Lee’s face, presumably to cut around moments in which the lip-syncing didn’t quite match the audio.
Lee’s supporting castmates drew the shortest sticks of all, each representing various one-dimensional cop show archetypes.Alfre Woodard plays the obligatory stick-in-the-mud lieutenant who just wants her star detective to play by the rules, while DJ Qualls portrays the bumbling comic relief officer who contaminates a murder scene within the first few minutes of the series premiere.
It’s hard to quantify the degree to which these issues or the reviewers who called them out contributed toMemphis Beat’s cancelation. Officially,TNT simply opted not to review the series in favor of shows that better matched their programming slate. Regardless, these criticisms could easily spell problems for9-1-1: Nashville, as evidenced by the franchise’s history.
9-1-1: Nashville Is Already At Risk Of Repeating Memphis Beat’s Mistakes
Lone Star Established What Could Be A Worrying Trend For The Franchise
There might not be many details about the new spinoff’s musical connections or whetherLeAnn Rimes’9-1-1: Nashvillecharacterwill actually sing, but the way the9-1-1franchise handled its last spinoff is already cause for future concern. Especially toward the end of the series,Lone Starreally didn’t maximize its cultural backdrop’s full potential.
Particularly in the final season,the vast majority of emergency calls in9-1-1: Lone Starcould be swapped with any call from the flagship without either series’ locations affecting a thing. There was a bit of Texan flavor in Carlos’ season 5 Ranger storyline, but that entire arc felt tonally like it was accidentally edited in from another series altogether.
It’s also worth noting the reasons forLone Star’s cancelation. While many of the spinoff’s financial issues arose from airing on Fox instead of ABC,Lone Staralso encountered problems with renegotiating its main talent’s salaries. The fact that9-1-1: Nashville’s cast is populated with recognizable network stars and notable country music personalities could ultimately lead to the same issue.
How 9-1-1: Nashville Can Further Distinguish Itself From Typical Procedurals
The New Spinoff Needs To Fully Embrace All Aspects Of Tennessee Culture
Perhaps it wasn’t as consistent as it could have been, butMemphis Beatdid occasionally get into some interesting Memphis culture, not just pertaining to music but also other areas such as barbecue. And that could be instructive for the new9-1-1spinoff, sincecountry music is less a mere genre in Tennessee and more an entire subculture.
This isn’t something that needs excessive plot focus to distinguish9-1-1: Nashvillefrom other procedurals.Incorporating Nashville culture into minor character interactions and interior set designs can meaningfully contribute to the series’ world building, establishing a uniquely Tennessean atmosphere as a throughline of the series.
Furthermore, not only can9-1-1: Nashvilleadditionally expand its cultural focus beyond country music into areas such as rodeos, auto racing, and themed social events at The Mark by CPI, butthe confirmation of diverse cast members such as Hailey Kilgore and Juani Feliz enables the series to look at these subcultures through a less traditional lens.
Only about half the city’s population is white, and its immigrant population includes the largest Kurdish community in America. Television infrequently depicts country music and Southern culture through non-Caucasian eyes, but9-1-1: Nashvillecan change that. In doing so, it could become not only a unique installment of the franchise, but perhaps one of the more unique network procedurals overall.
9-1-1: Nashville
Cast
9-1-1: Nashville follows the lives of first responders in Nashville, Tennessee. The series explores the challenges faced by police officers, firefighters, and paramedics as they navigate the complexities of their personal and professional lives while serving their community in times of crisis.
