Brad Paisley photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Country music stopped referring to itself as C&W — for country & western — four decades ago, but Brad Paisley is reinvigorating the association (kinda, sorta) by bringing a new series, tentatively titled “Nashville,” to the CW Network.

Brad is joining with a quartet of Hollywood talents — “Heroes” actor Zachary Quinto, “One Tree Hill” producer Mark Schwann and “Chuck” writers Neal Dodson and Matt Bomer — to develop the drama, which follows a talented female singer and a male songwriter as they try to build entertainment careers in Music City. Brad — whose wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, is an established actress — will contribute music to the production and make occasional appearances.

“I’m very excited to portray the country music world of my favorite town, Nashville, by showing the exciting life of musicians, songwriters and performers — all very talented people,” Brad says. “Look for some of your favorite country music stars to make their acting debuts on the show — either by playing themselves or as a character in the script. Country songs are like great scripts already, and it’s going to be fun to see how some unfold on the show.”

The series is expected to begin airing next season. Meanwhile, look for Brad on ABC-TV Nov. 11 when he co-hosts the 43rd annual Country Music Association Awards with Carrie Underwood.

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