The cast of "Nashville" Season 5 is expanding. The musical soap is set to introduce a male fashion designer and an African-American musician on its new installment on CMT.
According to Deadline, the series has cast "Looking" alum Murray Bartlett to play the role of Jakob Fine, described as a very handsome, charismatic and successful fashion designer who makes mens clothes. Bartlett will appear in a recurring basis throughout "Nashville" Season 5. No word yet as to whether or not he will interact with Rayna James or Juliette Barnes.
Bartlett joins previously cast guest stars Rhiannon Giddens and Jen Richards.
Additionally, viewers of "Nashville" will also meet an African-American musician named Clay on Season 5. According to Entertainment Weekly, producers are looking to cast an actor in his early to mid 20s to play the major and significant role.
"He is a creative, self-aware, highly motivated young man who suffers intense mood swings, but is nonetheless charming and outgoing. His musical style is eclectic, with modern elements but also nods to roots black music, bluegrass, and even classic country," reads the official character description for the role.
The cast of "Nashville" recently faced a shakeup following its fourth season cancellation on ABC. Now former cast members, Aubrey Peeples and Will Chase have exited shortly after CMT resurrected the series for Season 5. Behind the scenes, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz will now take over as new showrunners on CMT.
"Nashville" stars Hayden Panettiere, Connie Britton, Charles Esten, Jonathan Jackson, Sam Palladio, Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella, Chris Carmack and Clare Bowen. Season 5 premieres on Jan. 5 on CMT, with weekly episodes available for streaming the day after on Hulu.
