Will Chase to Return As a Series Regular on ABC's NASHVILLE

The news that fans of ABC's Nashville have been waiting for has arrived! The network has confirmed that the country music drama series will return for a 22-episode third season, per TVLine.

According to the report, the delay in announcing the news was due to discussions over how many episodes the third season would consist of.

The Season 3 confirmation means that frequent Season 2 guest star and Tony nominee Will Chase will be promoted to a series regular, along with Oliver Hudson, per Deadline.

In the show, Chase portrays Luke Wheeler, a world famous country music star who becomes romantically involved with his female country music counterpart, Rayna Jaymes, played by Connie Britton.

Read BWW's recent exclusive interview with Nashville's Will Chase here!

About Will Chase:

Will Chase starred on Broadway in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which he was nominated for a 2013 Tony Award, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Story of My Life, Billy Elliot: The Musical, High Fidelity, Lennon, The Full Monty, Aida, RENT and Miss Saigon.

His TV credits include the NBC musical drama Smash, as well as The Good Wife, It Could Be Worse, Necessary Roughness, Unforgettable, White Collar, Blue Bloods, Pan Am, Royal Pains, Rescue Me, and Law & Order.

About NASHVILLE: "

"Nashville" airs Wednesday nights at 10:00 p.m. on ABC and stars Connie Britton as Rayna Jaymes, Hayden Panettiere as Juliette Barnes, Eric Close as Teddy Conrad, Charles Esten as Deacon Claybourne, Clare Bowen as Scarlett O'Connor, Jonathan Jackson as Avery Barkley, Sam Palladio as Gunnar Scott, Chris Carmack as Will Lexington, Maisy Stella as Daphne Conrad and Lennon Stella as Maddie Conrad. Will Chase recurs as Luke Wheeler. Nashville" is executive-produced by Dee Johnson, R.J. Cutler, Callie Khouri and Steve Buchanan. The series is produced by Lionsgate, ABC Studios, and Opry Entertainment.

For more information about "Nashville" visit ABC.com/Nashville

Photo: ABC/Mark Levin