Fans of Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) will be relieved to know that their favorite country star in "Nashville" will be back soon after her stint in rehab.
In episode 7, Juliette finally accepted the fact that she needs medical help in dealing with her depression. After talking with Luke Wheeler (Will Chase) at their joint concert, she was last seen secretly checking into Horizons Rehab Center. Juliette was the reason her manager Jeff Fordam (Oliver Hudson) died. When she was contemplating to jump from the roof, Jeff tried to save her. Unfortunately for him, he was the one who slipped and fell to his death.
For a short time, Juliette's brain blocked what happened that night. She did not realize that she was partly responsible about Jeff's fate. When she eventually remembered, she was horrified. Juliette has been battling with depression after giving birth to her daughter with Avery Barkley (Jonathan Jackson). She chose to leave and avoided any contact with them. When her baby got sick, she could not be bothered to visit in the hospital. It got to the point that Avery got fed up of everything and asked for a divorce. That was the start of Juliette's downward spiral.
The rehab storyline was said to be incorporated to "Nashville" after it was discovered that Panettiere was suffering from postpartum depression. The actress gave birth to her daughter with fiancé, professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko, last December. PEOPLE reported that she volunteered to seek professional help and asked the media for some privacy.
According to "Nashville" executive producer Dee Johnson, Panettiere would indeed be taking a medical leave from the show, but she would be back soon. In her interview with Deadline, the executive producer elaborated that it's not unusual for shows to make adjustments, especially if the actor's personal life is at stake. She also denied that they patterned the Juliette storyline after Panettiere's real-life struggle.
"We incorporated Hayden's pregnancy into the storyline last season, but we knew Juliette would have issues with motherhood and had always planned for her to struggle with her demons afterwards, including postpartum depression," Johnson said.
"Nashville" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
