‘Nashville’ Canceled By ABC After 4 Seasons

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Sad news for Nashville fans — ABC has canceled the country music drama after four seasons.

There had been positive signs for a Season 5 renewal for Nashville, co-produced by Lionsgate TV and ABC Studios. Lionsgate TV stepped in to hire veteran producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick as new showrunners. The Emmy-winning duo already was working with writers on breaking stories for next season. I hear Lionsgate TV will shop the series to other networks.

Still, with Castle also on the bubble, coming off a highly rated episode on Monday, it was always a hard decision. And one of Nashville‘s strongest supporters at ABC, former programming topper Paul Lee, is gone.

While not a strong ratings performer, the music drama created by Callie Khouri has solid DVR bumps. Nashville, starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, also is a brand for ABC, with Nashville-themed TV music specials, soundtracks and tours. Just yesterday, ABC announced a high-profile VR digital extension for the show to go with the last three episodes of the season. Now they will be the music drama’s final installments, with the May 25 closer serving as series finale.

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