Multiple Networks Interested in ‘Nashville,’ Execs Say
Though Nashville's series finale has already aired, the show may still go on. Producers have revealed that multiple networks have expressed interest in the show, and the cast are still under contract.
ABC abruptly pulled the plug on the beloved show on May 12, stunning fans who had followed the characters through four years of drama set amidst the country music business in Music City. Lionsgate TV have been actively shopping the show to other networks to try to secure a fifth season, and TVLine reports that they even changed the ending of the Season 4 finale, which aired on May 25, to a cliffhanger at the last minute to make a projected next season more attractive to potential networks.
Nashville fans have started a petition at Change.org to try to save the show, and have undertaken a very active online campaign using the hashtag #BringBackNashville. The petition has gained more than 150,000 supporters over the last several weeks.
According to Variety, Lionsgate executives who spoke to reporters on an earnings call last week revealed that four or five different networks are currently interested in rescuing the show. The execs state that all of the inquiries have been “inbound inquires coming directly to us, asking about the possibility of moving the show.”
“The fans and everyone else is clamoring for many more seasons,” Lionsgate head of TV Kevin Beggs told reporters, adding, “These kinds of shows can go forever and ever — obviously that’s our hope and expectation, but we’ve got to do it one season at a time. So right now, we’re all about Season 5. So we hope to land Season 5 and keep talking about this show for years to come.”
Beggs also confirmed that Lionsgate has brought Emmy winners Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz on board as showrunners for Season 5, in a display of confidence for the show's "long-term viability." And there's even more good news for Nashville fans; instead of potentially losing the actors from Nashville to other shows while negotiations continue, “We have long-term deals with the cast,” Beggs says.
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