‘Nashville’ Co-Stars Connie Britton, Charles Esten Hang Out In Tennessee

Connie Britton left “Nashville” earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean she’s forgotten about her co-stars. Britton posted to Instagram, revealing that she and Charles Esten spent some time together.

The photo shows Esten, who played Britton’s husband Deacon on the CMT drama, holding onto his dog Blue and posing with Britton’s son Yobi. “Nashville” fans might recognize Blue. She played Deacon’s dog in the first season of the show before Esten officially adopted the pup.

“Hot dogs,” Britton captioned the photo along with the hashtags #yoby&blue&deacontoo and #nashville.

Though the actress left the CMT drama (which is currently on hiatus), she hasn’t left the actual town of Nashville, Tennessee yet. She revealed earlier this year that she would be sticking around for a few months. “I haven’t left that city behind,” she laughed at a Q&A session with the BUILD Series. “Five years later, it’s really become our home, and we have amazing friends there. My son’s in school, in kindergarten, and I didn’t want to drag him out in the middle of the year, so we’ll at least be there through the end of the school year.”

She clearly hasn’t forgotten about her TV family. Aside from hanging out with Esten, Britton also sent birthday wishes to Lennon Stella, who plays her oldest daughter Maddie. “Happy birthday @lennonstella. 18...whaaaat?? Love you girl,” Britton tweeted on Aug. 13.

Britton was killed off “Nashville” in February. Her character Rayna died after complications from a car accident. The show must go on, however. “Nashville” now follows Deacon as he raises their daughter Maddie and Rayna’s daughter Daphne (Maisy Stella). All of the actors in her onscreen family wrote letters of praise for the actress following her dramatic departure.

“I took this picture almost 5 years ago on my first day of shooting #nashville with @conniebritton. I was already a fan,” Esten wrote on Instagram after Britton’s deadly episode. “Now, after all this time, she’s my friend. And I’m an even bigger fan. I’m grateful for every scene, and for every song, and I wish her nothing but the very best.”

Britton has been moving on to new projects. In addition to a couple of films, she is also set to star in a new Showtime comedy, “SMILF.” As previously reported, the show follows a young woman named Bridgette (Frankie Shaw) who is trying to balance the dating world while also being a single mom. Rosie O’Donnell also stars in the show, which will premiere in November.

Britton will play Ally, Bridgette’s over-involved boss. She’s playing a supporting character in a season that only consists of 10 half-hour episodes, so it doesn’t seem like it will be a Rayna Jaymes-sized role.

“SMILF” is Britton’s first recurring role on a half-hour comedy in over a decade. Britton actually started out in comedy, with her first big roles on “Ellen” and “Spin City.”

Fans can also see the former “Friday Night Lights” actress on the big screen soon. She’ll be in “Professor Marston & the Wonder Women” and “The Land of Steady Habits” later this year.

Esten, meanwhile, can be seen on “Nashville” when the series returns to CMT for Season 6 next year.