After four seasons on ABC, the American musical drama TV series “Nashville” was canceled by the network immediately after it aired its 21st and final Season 4 episode on May 25.
Fans of the show were worried back then about the decision of ABC not to renew the show for Season 5 because “Nashville” left a huge cliffhanger during its Season 4 finale.
They are concerned that no other network or streaming service would pick up or rescue the show from cancellation and the cliffhanger would forever be left unanswered just like several TV series before it.
There were reports that ABC would not renew “Nashville” for Season 5 as early as March. But the producers of the TV series, Lionsgate Television, still decided to end the 21st and final episode of Season 4 of “Nashville” with a bold cliffhanger, much to the surprise of the fans.
In a recent statement, Lionsgate Television said that it is standing by its decision to end the fourth season of the musical country drama with a cliffhanger, describing it as a little short-term pain but ultimately long-term gain.
Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate Television boss, revealed that they are in substantive and serious conversations with multiple buyers about continuing the TV series on another platform, hinting that another network or streaming service might pick up “Nashville” for Season 5.
Beggs said that if they did not feel that something positive is up in the horizon for “Nashville,” they would not end the fourth season with a bold cliffhanger like that.
The ace on the show’s sleeve
Now it is clear that Lionsgate’s ace on its sleeve is CMT which has decided to pick up “Nashville” for Season 5.
CMT has already placed an order for Season 5 of “Nashville” and it will be collaborating with ABC Studios and Hulu to ensure its continuation. Thus, the Season 4 finale cliffhanger would be answered come its Season 5 premiere episode on CMT.
However, the show shall have new showrunners in Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, the series creators of “Thirtysomethings.”
The network president Brian Philips said that “Nashville” would be an excellent fit for CMT’s roster, citing that it is a perfect addition to the network’s evolving lineup of big music specials, documentaries, and original series.
A quantum leap
Back in March, Philips already issued a statement during one of his presentations that CMT would be moving into scripted series for the first time beginning this year and called it as a quantum leap.
Back then, it was clear that he was referring only to the TV series “Still the King” which already debuted early this month, and “Million Dollar Quarter” which is due to air in November.
It turns out that the CMT’s biggest caper was its decision to pick up “Nashville” Season 5 after it got cut by ABC late last month, reports Adweek.
Accordingly, CMT shall be airing all 22 episodes of Season 5 of “Nashville” even as Hulu shall remain the show’s exclusive streaming partner, which would make all Season 5 episodes available for streaming the day after they air on CMT.
The Season 4 finale of “Nashville,” entitled “Maybe You’ll Appreciate Me Someday” has put the fate of Juliette, played by Hayden Panettiere, in limbo as her plane has gone missing. It is not clear if she is already dead or still alive.
It also showed Avery, played by Jonathan Jackson, and baby Cadence still waiting at the airport. They were just told that the plane carrying the country singer lost contact with air traffic controllers.
Following the Season 4 finale, showrunner Callie Khouri said that the story of “Nashville” went exactly as planned. She said that they are extremely grateful for the loyal following of the TV series.
Khouri also said that they still have stories left to tell and songs left to sing.
“Nashville” or its return with the hashtag #BringBackNashville has even become a trending topic on social media just days after its Season 4 finale.