INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

‘Nashville’ Renewed For Season 5: CMT Officially Picks Up Axed ABC Series

By Taylor Rios
Published on: 06:54 PST, Jun 10, 2016

Nashville fans were shocked when ABC canceled the popular country music series after four seasons. Viewers are in luck, though. A deal was made, and the TV show has been officially picked up by CMT.

In early May 2016, fans were disappointed, stunned, and angry after hearing ABC canceled Nashville. Viewers went to social media to express their concerns. While ABC did not change its mind, another network was paying attention.

“CMT heard the fans. The wave of love and appreciation they have unleashed for Nashville has been overwhelming,” CMT President Brian Philips said, according to Variety. “Nashville is a perfect addition to our evolving line-up of big music specials, documentaries, and original series. We see our fans and ourselves in this show and we will treasure it like no other network. Nashville belongs on CMT.”

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Nashville was being shopped around at other networks. Lionsgate was not giving up and “aggressively” searched for a new network. Up to five different platforms expressed interest in picking up Nashville. Recently, it was stated that the television series and CMT were close to making a deal.

Well, it is time to celebrate, as a deal has been made and finalized. According to Variety, Nashville has been renewed for Season 5 and will air on CMT. For those that watch the show on Hulu, don’t worry. As usual, Hulu will continue to stream new episodes one day after they air. Despite switching to another network, that will not change.

“Nashville has long been a fan favorite show on Hulu and we are so proud to continue to make new episodes available for fans to stream the day after they air,” Craig Erwich, SVP and Head of Content at Hulu explained. “We look forward to bringing even more episodes of this acclaimed series to its passionate and devoted audience.”

It was assumed by many that ABC would have renewed the country music TV show. During Season 4, the series had a 1.7 rating among adults aged 18-49. Counting Nielsen’s “live plus-7 estimates,” those numbers rose to 6.7 million viewers and a 1.8 rating.

The Nashville cancellation was a shock, especially after Entertainment Weekly reported that Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick were picked out as new showrunners for Season 5.

Nashville ended Season 4 with a cliffhanger, which made fans even angrier about the cancellation. On the last episode, Juliette Barnes disappeared and her airplane could not be found. Fans were hoping that Juliette and Avery would get back together. However, that didn’t happen since Hayden Panettiere’s character never arrived. Juliette is a favorite character among many Nashville fans. It seemed unfair that the show was canceled by ABC with no closure or resolution to Juliette and Avery’s storyline.

With Nashville Season 5 confirmed and two new showrunners picked out, fans wonder if there will be any big cast changes. There is no information on that yet, but details should emerge in the next few months. Hopefully, all of the main cast members will return for the next season. Fans want and deserve the stories on Nashville to continue with no loose ends.

Even though many details about Season 5 have not been released, one thing is for sure. Fans are overjoyed that CMT picked up Nashville after it was axed by ABC. As the popular saying goes, the show will go on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1bIr5wT1C0

Were you upset when ABC canceled Nashville after the Season 4 finale? Are you excited that CMT picked up the country music television show? Do you expect any major cast changes to the cast? What do you think will happen in Nashville Season 5 when new episodes air on CMT and Hulu?

[Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for SiriusXM]

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