How 'Nashville' Season 3 dressed Hayden Panettiere's baby bump

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While producers control the ins and outs of character's lives on TV sets, the same control can't always be applied to an actor's personal life. So when a star of a TV show wants to expand her family and have a baby, it can throw a whole story off balance. What are TV writers to do then? They really only have two choices -- write it in or attempt to hide the continuously growing baby bump on their actress.

If choosing to hide it, it is almost impossible to do it gracefully after a couple of months. There are only so many coats a main character can wear in June (looking at you, Olivia Pope) and so many potted plants an actress can stand near. "Nashville" took the other path, tackleingactress Hayden Panettiere's real-life pregnancy right from the get go by writing it in.

The soap set beneath the star-filled lights of Nashville's music scene is the model for handling a pregnancy with grace. Here are the two keys to how the ABC series nailed it:

1. Have it make sense

Panettiere's character, fiery singer Juliette Barnes, doesn't always deal with her anger in the best of ways. The "Nashville" writers channeled that energy into a dynamic, two-punch storyline for the baby bump, having Juliette not only be pregnant, but also have a who's-the-daddy situation on her hands. The storyline made sense and still constantly keeps fans on their toes.


2. Style it right

Juliette's shorter-than-short skirts and plunging necklines aren't really conducive to covering a baby bump. "Nashville" costume designer Susie DeSanto tells Zap2it that although Juliette's pregnancy seemed to weave into the storyline seamlessly, it required some serious creativity on the wardrobe department's part.

"Hayden was much farther along than Juliette when we started the season, so we had to hide her baby bump for quite a few episodes," DeSanto says. "It was quite a challenge especially with the body-conscious way Juliette dresses, not to mention performing in a tight, super-short, sparkling dress."

After a while things became not so much about camouflaging the bump, but more about making it stylish. "Hayden's so tiny, that baby was definitely in the room," DeSanto says.  "Once Juliette's pregnancy caught up to Hayden's, it was really sweet fun to do her costumes. Maternity clothes Juliette's way."

Catch "Nashville" Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.