Nick Lachey Should be the Basis of a 'Justified' Prequel

Nick Lachey is most commonly associated with Cincinnati, Ohio. He's a notorious Cincy sports fan who once got into it with Chargers fans in San Diego. He also attended an Orange Bowl to see his beloved USC win the BCS National Championship. Lachey roomed with Steve Sarkisian at USC.

While going down a Nick Lachey rabbit hole, I saw that he was born in Harlan, Kentucky. As a Justified fan, this sent my head spinning. Lachey is age-appropriate to have grown up around Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder. This means there could have been a storyline on Justified where Boyd either put together or managed a boy band - a Boyd Band if you will - and it would have been completely appropriate. In an alternate universe, Nick Lachey's parents never get out of Harlan and Drew Lachey is also born in Harlan and you've got 40-50 percent of a boy band right there. Not to mention Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrel of the Backstreet Boys are from Lexington.

Based on a recent interview Walton Goggins gave to Uproxx, there is no reason to believe that Boyd would not have tried to become the Lou Pearlman of Eastern Kentucky.

"Boyd Crowder was what I wanted to say about rural America and my version of it. And that for him, there was a glass ceiling, and he couldn’t break it. And all he ever wanted was that, was the ability to escape a life that he came from, and to be somebody, and to be respected in a different way, and not through fear and intimidation."

So, yeah. This is the Justified prequel we need. And while we're here, did anyone else refer to Miller Lite as a "Nick Lachey" during the early aughts? Lachey's love of Miller Lite was front and center in Newlyweds. Somehow he didn't get an official endorsement until last year, but as Kyle Koster and I can attest, he has done more for Miller Lite brand awareness than anyone over the last two decades. We attended colleges in different states and both of our friend groups called Miller Lites, "Nick Lacheys." We cannot be alone.

So let's raise a Nich Lachey to Nick Lachey. He's been a part of popular culture since the 90s, the most important decade of all time according to multiple online lists of things kids who grew up in the 90's will understand.