The third season of the American television drama series Nashville, created by Callie Khouri, began on September 24, 2014, on ABC. The show features an ensemble cast with Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere in the leading roles as two country music superstars, Rayna Jaymes and Juliette Barnes.
The episodes are named after country songs from a variety of artists, like Webb Pierce ("That's Me Without You"), Willie Nelson (a number of songs, like "The Storm Has Just Begun") and Loretta Lynn ("You're Lookin' at Country").
On May 9, 2014, Nashville was renewed for a third season by ABC. The series was renewed after prolonged negotiations for a full 22-episode season. This season will receive a combined $8 million incentive package from the state of Tennessee, Metro Nashville and other local groups, lower than the Season 2 incentives — which totaled $13.25 million. On March 11, 2014, before the show was renewed, it was announced that Oliver Hudson and Will Chase are being promoted to regulars for season three, contingent on the ABC series getting a renewal. The series creator and executive producer later said that "a lot of our characters may not be in every episode this year".