CMT has officially renewed "Nashville" for a sixth season set to air early 2018.
According to reports, the network picked up "Nashville" for season 6, but it will be shortened to just 16 episodes. The show usually gets a full season order, which ranges from 21 to 23 episodes. This has led to speculations that season 6 could be the program's last. CMT did not give any official comment on whether the reduced number of episodes means the show will end in the next installment.
CMT became the second home network of "Nashville" last year when ABC canceled the musical drama after the finale of its fourth season. For the first 11 episodes of season 5, the series averaged a 0.2 live-plus-same day Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demo. It also garnered a total of 900,000 viewers and was named the most watched TV show in CMT history when season 5 averaged 2.1 million viewers in live-plus-seven ratings.
"'Nashville' is our biggest hit and we're thrilled its fans have now become consistent CMT viewers," said CMT President Brian Philips in a press statement. "As fans ourselves, we couldn't be happier with our hometown show's creative resurgence! We can't wait for you to see what comes next."
The first half of season 5 left off with the death of lead character Rayna James, portrayed by Connie Britton. Following Britton's shocking exit, the show added two more characters to its cast for season 5. "The O.C." star Rachel Bilson and "Empire" actress Kaitlin Doubleday are heading to Music City when the series returns this summer. Details about their roles are being kept under wraps, but some clues can be found on their social media posts.
Bilson's Instagram photo hints that she could be working with Highway 65, Rayna's record label. Meanwhile, Doubleday posted an image, teasing that she might perform in Bluebird Cafe in the near future.
The fifth season of "Nashville" returns on Thursday, June 1, at 9 p.m. EDT on CMT.
