‘Nashville’ Sets Third Season Premiere

Fans of the hit TV show 'Nashville' won't have too much longer to wait for the next season to begin.

The network has announced that the third season will premiere on Sept. 24 at 10PM ET on ABC.

Apparently, the writers for the award-winning drama are already preparing for the new season of the show, which boasts an all-star cast, including Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Charles 'Chip' Esten and Claire Bowen.

The location of the show was in jeopardy as recently as a few months ago, when the trimmed Tennessee state budget didn't allow as many economic incentives as Seasons 1 and 2. But with an $8 million incentive package -- which was less than the $13.25 million the show received for the second season -- the show decided to remain in Nashville, instead of moving to one of the rumored alternate locations, including Georgia or Texas.

“It was not an easy decision to make,” Nashville Mayor Karl Dean says. “We obviously had lots of conversations, and I’m sure it’s not the amount they wanted.”

The show, which also makes money from music downloads, has boosted tourism for the city significantly, with one in five tourists saying they visited Nashville because of it.

“It’s been an overwhelmingly good thing for the city," Dean adds. "We have a strong tourism economy and a strong convention economy, but this just adds to it in a way we would never be able to do on our own.”

Filming for Season 3 is expected to begin shortly. There's no word yet if the writers will write Panettiere's reported pregnancy into the show.