‘Nashville’ Season 5 Spoilers: 5 Things Revealed At ATX

“Nashville” fans in Austin, Texas, got the scoop on the CMT drama straight from the writers on Thursday. After a special screening of episode 13 at ATX Television Festival at Alamo Drafthouse, writer Scott Saccoccio, co-writer Jesse Zwick, music producer Tim Lauer and co-producer Geoffrey Nauffts dished about Season 5 and even gave a few teasers about what to expect in upcoming episodes.

Details On Rachel Bilson’s Character: The “Hart of Dixie” alum’s casting wasn’t announced with much scoop on her new character, but the “Nashville” Season 5 writers are finally opening up a little more about Alyssa Greene. She will be brought in to help the business side of Highway 65, despite not knowing anything about country music. Though she hails from Seattle, she’s one of Zach’s (Cameron Scoggins) friends from Silicon Valley.

“She brings new ideas to the label that maybe not everybody likes,” Saccoccio teased. “Or maybe some do, and maybe that will create problems.”

The Custody Battle Might Go On: Though Teddy (Eric Close) dropped his custody argument within just an episode, it seems like the issue will come up again when he is a free man. When asked about Rayna’s first husband coming back, the writers teased that it was pretty likely.

READ: Charles Esten Reacts To “Nashville” Season 6 Renewal

“Assuming he’s available,” Zwick said of Close. “I think that’s one of the great things about episode 10 — these dilemmas in which there aren’t clear answers, and this was a real problem and a real issue and you can see different sides to it. Deacon [Charles Esten] has stepped up in a beautiful way to raise these girls, but it’s not as if Teddy didn’t have a legitimate claim to being their guardian.”

Bucky Returns: In episode 13, Zach forced Bucky (David Alford) out of the record label he helped start with Rayna (Connie Britton), but the character isn’t gone yet. “That isn’t the last we’ll see of Bucky,” Zwick teased.

Hallie Goes Pop: Though actress Rhiannon Giddens is an Americana singer, Lauer teased that audiences would get to hear another side of Gidden’s voice, a side that even she wasn’t sure existed.

“She sings a pop song, and she says, ‘I don’t know how to do this,’” the music producer recalled. “I said, ‘Look, you are a deep, deep musician. You have to channel your inner Beyoncé. You have to be an actress right now. You have to act. You have to sing like you’re playing a character that you are not. And she was very worried about it, and she absolutely nails it.”

Zach’s Allegiances: Throughout “Nashville” Season 5, audiences have been wondering if they can trust Zach. The country music fanboy turned tech mogul seems to have good intentions, but his methods are questionable. After ousting Bucky, fans are likely questioning him even more. Don’t expect to have a clear picture of him any time soon.

“We like to keep you guessing about him,” Zwick said. “He’s not a pure villain. He’s a complicated character, and I think that will keep evolving as well.”

“Nashville” Season 5 airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT on CMT.