Halfway through Season 5 of Nashville — its first on CMT — cable network has ordered a 16-episode sixth season of the country music drama to premiere early next year. Additionally, CMT has set June 1 for the midseason premiere of Season 5.
While Season 5 consisted of 22 episodes, in line with Nashville‘s first four seasons on broadcaster ABC, the size of the Season 6 order is on the high end for a cable series. Hulu will continue to stream episodes the day after they premiere on CMT.
Nashville has done very well at CMT since moving to the network from its original home at ABC. The series, which wrapped its 13-episode Season 5 winter season last month punctuated by the death of Connie Britton’s Rayna James, ranks as the highest-rated and most-watched show in the network’s history, averaging 2.1M weekly viewers in L+7. Nashville has lifted CMT, whose total day ratings are up 19% with adults 18-49 and 25% with women 18-49.
