CMT Confirms ‘Nashville’ Season 6, Reveals Season 5 Midseason Premiere

"Nashville" Season 6 is happening. CMT recently confirmed the renewal and provided further details about the installment. The network also announced the return date of the midseason premiere of Season 5.

CMT announced the renewal on Monday. "Nashville" Season 6 premieres early in 2018, although there is no exact release date provided yet. However, there is a catch. According to TV Guide, the network only gave a green light for 16 episodes. It is shorter than a regular season, which usually has 22 or 23 episodes.

The renewal of the country music drama is expected given its viewership. According to Spoiler TV, it remains the highest viewed TV show on CMT, with an average of over two million views weekly. It continues to draw audiences as the season progresses, which in turn helped boost the network's overall rating. The confirmation of "Nashville" Season 6 is only going to improve CMT's ratings over other cable shows.

However, it remains unknown at this point if "Nashville" Season 6 is going to be the show's last. Storyline details for the installment also remain under wrap. Casting updates may be in order for the new season following the addition of three new characters in Season 5.

Rachel Bilson ("Hart of Dixie"), Jeffrey Nordling ("Big Little Lies") and Kaitlin Doubleday ("Empire") will be joining the second half of Season 5. Nordling is the latest addition to the show. He plays a recurring character named Brad Maitland. He is described as a charming yet narcissistic affluent owner of the most successful record label in Nashville.

In addition to the announcement of "Nashville" Season 6, CMT also revealed the midseason return of Season 5. The show returns for its remaining 11 episodes on June 1, 2017. The show has been on hiatus since March 9 after it killed leading lady Rayna James (Connie Britton). She died in the hospital from organ failure after surviving a car crash.