CMT is ending the series about dreamers and schemers in Music City after Season 6 concludes.
Fans of the TV drama Nashville are about to get their hearts broken all over again. CMT, which picked up the series two years ago after it concluded a four-season run on ABC, announced Friday that it would be pulling the plug on the show after it completes its upcoming 16-episode sixth season. According to Deadline.com, Season 6 is set to kick off Jan. 6, and will conclude, after a midseason interval, in Summer 2018.
The cancellation, Nellie Andreeva of Deadline.com reports, stems in part from a shift in programming strategy at CMT. Even though Nashville — produced by Lionsgate TV, Opry Entertainment and ABC Studios — is the most-watched and highest-rated series in the network’s history, Andreeva reports CMT currently is “focusing on unscripted fare, which is significantly cheaper than scripted.” Indeed, CMT already has plans to kinda-sorta replace Nashville with an unscripted show titled Music City.
Meanwhile, the people responsible for the series are hinting they are saving the best for last.
“All of us on Nashville are so incredibly grateful to the show’s fans, who convinced CMT to give us a chance to keep telling the story of these remarkable characters,” executive producer Marshall Herskovitz said in a prepared statement. “And we want to return the favor with a final season that celebrates all the joys and passions, twists and turns — and amazing music! — that made Nashville such an exciting journey for the last six years.”
Charles Esten (pictured above), who has portrayed country artist Deacon Claybourne since the series' very first episode, Tweeted this today:
