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Hayden Panettiere has passed away at the age of 36. It’s a shock to the system for many who grew up with her.
Whether you remember the 10-year-old in Remember the Titans or you know her for her singing voice on Nashville, there are some major movies and TV shows to spend our time rewatching.
Fun fact: When I was writing Charmed fanfiction set in the future with Wyatt and Chris Halliwell, Panettiere was always the face I pictured when writing one of the main villains. She still is that character I named Ebony who had a five-season arc, because I knew she had the range needed for that particular role.
So, I’m going to spend the last of the summer rewatching some of my favorites starring Panettiere. Here are the five I’ll be checking out.
Remember the Titans
There is no perfect place to start than Remember the Titans*, as Panettiere was just 10 as she made it clear the type of actress she could be. In fact, there was an interview with Us Weekly that stands out, when she said that she would love to go back to this role, because who wouldn’t want to go back to being 10 when everything is “shiny.” There’s a poignant meaning to that statement now.
Remember the Titans stars Denzel Washington as a high school football coach. Based on a true story, it follows a group of former football coaches and players who gather for a former football player’s funeral. We then go back 10 years to the summer of 1971 to hear Bill Yoast and this student’s story in a time of segregation and hatred.
Heroes
“Save the cheerleader, save the world.” This was the show that put Panettiere on my radar in full. She took on the role of Claire Bennett, a high school cheerleader with the ability to regenerate. She couldn’t die, and that made her an extremely powerful foe.
Sylar wanted that ability, and if he got it, he would become unstoppable. And so, for the first season, the focus was on saving Claire. Heroes* did go off track after that highly praised first season, but Panettiere continued to put in the work, and she was my favorite part of the whole series.
Nashville
Since I’m likely going to Nashville next summer, I was planning on rewatching the Nashville* series anyway. Now I’ll be rewatching it sooner, as I loved seeing Panettiere get another chance to shine.
She took on the role of Juliette Barnes, a poppy country music star, who quickly made an enemy of Rayna Jaymes. Juliette was egotistical and shallow at times, but she also had some major fears and came from a less-than-kind background. Had these two women been able to support each other, we wouldn’t have had a drama that was fun to watch. There were plenty of highs and lows, but it’s not a show that focuses on girls supporting girls — at least, not at first!
Bring It On: All or Nothing
I loved the first Bring It On, but the second one didn’t quite do it for me. When I was traveling in Canada for the first time back in the mid-2000s, I came across Bring It On: All or Nothing*, and since I was already a Panettiere fan, I decided to check it out. It was a lot of fun, and it’s a movie I need to watch with the kids.
This is a story focused on a cheerleader who transfers schools, making the promise to never cheerlead again. However, she can’t hold up that promise, but that doesn’t mean she can just simply join the new team. She doesn’t fit in, and there are a lot of topics surrounding race, acceptance, and combining styles that lead to a movie with a positive message.
Scream IV, V, and VI
Okay, so I’ve wanted to do a full Scream rewatch for some time, especially since realizing that it’s the 30th anniversary of the first movie this year. Now, do I start from the beginning, or start with Panettiere’s movies? That’s the big question, but I’ll likely start where it all began.
Panettiere played Kirby Reed in the fourth installment*, and in the fifth, she appeared in a photograph with the news that she had, in fact, survived the events of that movie. Then she appeared in Scream IV* in person, helping to take down the next set of killers, and she’s even an FBI agent, adding a layer to the character! She did survive, but she didn’t return for the seventh movie, and if there is a future movie, it will be interesting to see how Scream honors her.
What are you watching first when it comes to Panettiere’s past work? Share your thoughts in the comments.
