Hayden Panettiere is beaming as she heads to a photo shoot in New York City on Friday afternoon (May 18).

The 22-year-old actress caught up with EOnline at the ABC Upfront Presentation to chat about working alongside Connie Britton on her new show, Nashville.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Hayden Panettiere

“I’m actually a huge fan of hers. I’ve watched Friday Night Lights, and I was a huge fan of American Horror Story,” Hayden dished. “I remember right before she was about to sign, we were both at WME and I went up to her and I was like, ‘I hear you might be doing the show. I’m in love with the show. I really want to do it.’ She was like, ‘I’m so excited to hear that you might be involved.’ So we were ecstatic when it happened!”

10+ pics inside…