The Faith Hill-inspired queen of country music (the ever-classy Connie Britton) battles the newest country pop princess (a deliciously bratty Hayden Panettiere) in what is certainly one of the best new shows of the season. Nashville is filled with soapy romantic tension set against a backdrop of some of the most beautiful harmonies ever played. In the midst of all the musical drama, is Kourtney Hansen, an Iowa native and Drake University alum who plays Emily, the assistant and balancing voice of reason to Panettiere’s hotheaded Juliette Barnes. I talked with Hansen about her about life in Tennessee, living the Hollywood dream, and what’s next for Emily and the rest of the Nashville crew.

How did you get the job on Nashville? What was the audition process like?

“I have a talent agent here in Nashville, Mark Block, who got me the initial audition in conjunction with a casting agency that worked on the pilot. My initial audition was in front of casting (who I had auditioned for before) and a camera. I read through the scene of Juliette’s assistant with the casting agent a couple of times and that was it. After that, I was called in for a call back which, unbeknownst to me, was in front of the director of the pilot and one of our executive producers, RJ Cutler, and our show’s creator, academy award winner, Callie Khouri who wrote Thelma & Louise. So it was a great thing I didn’t know who they were because I would have been extremely nervous! There were several women at the callback as well and after that and waiting a few days, it came down to myself and one other woman. In the end, they cast me!”

What’s been your favorite part of working on the show so far? How has it been interacting with such huge stars like Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere?

“So far it’s been achieving a lifelong goal of being a working actor. The bonus is being a working actor on a successful major network TV show that I’m very proud of. The cast is incredible, not only Hayden and Connie, but everyone involved is amazing. We are all a team and that makes the show what it is. It’s very surreal to be included in this ensemble of wonderfully talented people. To get specific, though, I have been a fan of Hayden’s since she was a kid on Guiding Light. To be acting alongside someone who I’ve admired and was a fan of from there all the way to Heroes is absolutely unbelievable. I pinch myself all the time.

How has the character of Emily developed over the course of the show so far? Will we continue to see more of her during the rest of the season?

“We have seen Emily go from minion to watching her step up and show why she sticks with Juliette. She believes in her and I think, although she gets frustrated with Juliette’s actions, can truly see the good in her. She knows how truly talented she is and wants her to be a the good person Emily knows she is. We haven’t finished shooting the rest of the season so it’s unknown as to the course for Emily from here on out…I definitely hope you will see more of her!”

The show has been such a great platform for amazing country music. With your background in country music, will you get to sing on the show?

“Well, I’m not much of a singer, so I hope they don’t ask me to sing! My background was in country radio in Des Moines, and I’ve only worked on the acting and dancing sides of the entertainment biz, but having a fiancé who is a country artist, and being around country music at CMT and from my past in country radio, I definitely feel at home on a show with this platform.”

What are you involved in outside of your acting on Nashville?

“Since 2010, I have worked as a correspondent on CMT Insider, now Hot 20 Countdown, interviewing country artists and hosting pieces on the country music entertainment show. I also serve as in-arena host at the Nashville Predators NHL games, conducting contests and promos during breaks and intermissions as the host of the monthly Predators TV show, Predators Snapshot and I’m the host of features on the Predators’ website. I also just finished my third round of national 1800PetMeds commercials that run quite a bit, so you may catch me on those. Aside from that, there’s not much time in the day to do much of anything else right now during shooting season!”

How do you balance the Hollywood profession and living in Nashville?

“You know, it’s so strange because since the show is shot here, even though a ton of our cast and crew migrated here from LA for the show, I don’t get the Hollywood feeling a whole lot. At this point-since I’ve been blessed to have been shooting with everyone since the pilot, it just feels more like a really cool job in the field I was trained in. From time to time, I get a little of the Hollywood profession when people recognize me from the show or when cast members will go back to LA for award shows or something, but we’re so tight knit here and we have so much fun shooting, it doesn’t feel like a job; I have to remind myself of how big and far reaching this thing really is.”

How do you feel about living in Nashville?

“I absolutely adore Nashville. I knew the minute I visited for the first time many years ago that it would be the only place I could see myself living besides Iowa. It’s so comparable to home in many ways-with a little bit better weather, which is a plus! The live music, the southern hospitality, the feeling of a small town but just the right size of city-makes it such a wonderful place to live and work.”