'Nashville' Getting Picked Up By CMT?

Nashville made find a new home on CMT.

Last month, ABC announced that it was not renewing primetime soap opera Nashville for a fifth season, and began promoting the Season 4 finale as the "series finale." But producer Lionsgate TV had a different idea, and continued shopping the show to other networks. Based on new reports in local newspaper The Tennessean and entertainment outlets like Variety, it looks like the production company is about to strike a deal with cable network CMT for a new season, and possibly more.

If finalized Wednesday, a deal could be announced during the CMT Music Awards, which broadcast live that night.

Most of the Nashville characters received happy ending during the finale in May. Rayna (Connie Britton) and Deacon (Charles Esten) reunited with their emancipated daughter, Maddie (Lennon Stella). Gunnar (Sam Palladio) and Scarlett (Clare Bowen) shared a passionate reunion kiss on stage. Will (Chris Carmack) was headed toward a possible reunion with Kevin, and had come to terms with being the face of a cause and using his celebrity to make a difference. It looked like Avery (Jonathan Jackson) was also about to reunite with Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) but he learned, in the final scene, that her plane possible went down 90 miles west of Nashville.

Last month on a call with press, Lionsgate’s head of TV, Kevin Beggs, said they have “long-term deals with the cast,” though as the CMT renewal is not yet official, returning cast members have not been announced. Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz are on board as showrunners for Season 5, as the duo was attached before the show was cancelled at ABC.