It Looks Like ‘Nashville’ Has Found A Home!

Lionsgate TV has called the two essential to the show’s continuation in the past and other news outlets report the two are still under contract. According to Entertainment Weekly, the deal includes a Hulu streaming component; the platform now carries the show’s previous seasons, but there are no additional details about this part of the deal. A formal announcement could come Wednesday during the CMT Awards. A rosier alternate ending was also shot, but producers Lionsgate opted for the open-ended route to bolster attempts to find the show a new home. It’d be virtually the equivalent of someone handing you a Christmas present, getting you excited about it, and then yanking it away.

Owing to the fact that the show is going to CMT, Nashville is expected to produce a shorter season of around 10-13 episodes, rather than the 20-22 episodes Lionsgate produced for ABC over the past four seasons.

A Nashville revival would also mean a likely dual window for the drama starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere. Lionsgate signed Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (My So-Called Life, thirtysomething) to a sizable overall deal that included taking over for Dee Johnson as Nashville showrunners.

“We want to thank creator Callie Khouri and showrunner Dee Johnson for their inspiration and guidance through tonight’s exciting season finale, and know that more of the Nashville story is waiting to be told”, Beggs said.

Fans have beat the drum for the show’s survival, organizing a virtual viewing party of the Nashville pilot last week under the hashtag #NashRewind.