For ‘Nashville,’ the abrupt end of the melody
The drama, unexpectedly canceled by ABC, wraps up its four-year run
May 25, 2016
Like “Castle,” ABC’s “Nashville” was expected to be renewed for a fifth season, and so it was a shock when new network entertainment president Channing Dungey decided to axe the show about the drama-filled lives of country stars.
That suddenly turned tonight’s season finale, airing at 10 p.m., into a series finale, though the studio behind the drama is hopeful another network or website will pick up the program.
Lionsgate television group chairman Kevin Beggs has reportedly told those who work on the program that “Nashville” is being shopped around.
Of course, that seems to happen anytime a show is canceled these days. Last year, for instance, Hulu picked up “The Mindy Project” after Fox declined to air a fourth season. Yahoo famously saved “Community” for one additional season after NBC dropped it. And “Cougar Town” moved to TBS for its final three seasons.
It’s happened on cable, too, with A&E’s “Longmire” and AMC’s “The Killing” earning second lives on Netflix.
“Nashville” has reportedly gotten interest from Hulu, Epix and DirecTV, which, coincidentally enough, saved “Nashville” star Connie Britton’s last show, “Friday Night Lights.” Under an innovative agreement at the time, “Lights” began airing episodes first on DirecTV and later on NBC, cutting way down on the broadcast network’s costs.
Still, these shows are the exceptions rather than the rule. “Nashville’s” TV audience has drifted away over the years, and it may not prove a cost-beneficial move for a network to pick it up, since the cast’s salaries have increased this far into its run.
There may be a slight gain in ratings tonight for the final episode. So far this season, “Nashville” has averaged a 1.0 Nielsen 18-49 rating.
A look at this week’s top TV draws |
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
8 p.m. |
NBC |
“Heartbeat” (D) |
The rookie show was canceled after providing weak lead-in support for two Dick Wolf procedurals (“Law & Order: SVU” and “Chicago P.D.”). |
8 p.m. |
UniMas, ESPN 2 |
“Soccer” (S) |
Exhibition match between Team USA and Ecuador, live from Toyota Stadium in Dallas, TX. |
9 p.m. |
Fox |
“Wayward Pines” (D) |
Remember the hype for this M. Night Shyamalan-produced series when it premiered last year? The show’s second season is generating much less. |
9 p.m. |
CBS |
“Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” (D) |
Back-to-back episodes, concluding with the show’s first-season finale in which the search for an American woman who kidnapped a Haitian child contrasts with Jack and Karen sending their daughter away to college. |
9 p.m. |
Investigation Discovery |
“Murder U” (R) |
The rookie season of this reality docudrama about notorious passion-driven crimes in college campuses concludes just like it (and the genre) started: With murder. Obviously. |
10 p.m. |
ABC |
“Nashville” (D) |
The primetime soap opera about female country superstars competing for everything (fame, fortune, men, hype, etc.) wraps with a finale that, like “Castle,” became an unexpected series finale when ABC unexpectedly canned the show. |
THURSDAY, MAY 26 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
11:30 a.m. |
Nickelodeon |
“PAW Patrol” (K) |
The team helps a rancher find his spooked horse, and jets made of water start appearing all over town, peaking Ryder’s curiosity. |
8 p.m. |
ABC |
“500 Questions” (G) |
Season premiere. Back-to-back episodes of a big-money game show in primetime with “Jeopardy’s” Ken Jennings competing? Yep, it must be the day after the TV season ends. |
8 p.m. |
PBS |
“The This Old House Hour” (N) |
Fourteenth season finale for this PBS mainstay, which (among other stories) showcases a home gym built for a wounded U.S. NAVY Seal. |
9 p.m. |
CNN |
“The Eighties” (N) |
Breaking news preemptions have wreaked havoc with the episode air dates the past few weeks. Tonight this nostalgia-fueled, Tom Hanks-produced news documentary series concludes with a look at the AIDS epidemic. |
9 p.m. |
TNT |
“NBA Basketball” (S) |
Can the Oklahoma City Thunder take it up to Stephen Curry’s face and beat the Golden State Warriors in their house? |
10 p.m. |
BBC America |
“Orphan Black” (D) |
With a Sarah-focused storyline and a catchy episode title (“The Antisocialism of Sex”), it might be time for viewers to return to a show they lost track of during the past month’s glut of season-ending finales and specials. |
FRIDAY, MAY 27 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
3 a.m. |
Netflix |
“Bloodline” (D) |
Kyle Chandler and Ben Mendelsohn continue to headline this adult sibling rivalry drama set in the Florida Keys. All 10 episodes of ”Bloodline’s” 2nd season drop simultaneously. |
8 p.m. |
NBC |
“Caught on Camera with Nick Cannon” (R) |
Second-season finale for this NBC utility player, an inexpensive way to either plug schedule holes or fill a Friday night time slot. |
8 p.m. |
SyFy |
“WWE Raw” (V) |
Second week of SyFy’s new WWE wrestling program should benefit from having little to no competition on a holiday weekend. |
9 p.m. |
Discovery |
“Alaskan Bush People” (R) |
Sandwiched between another “ABP” episode at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.’s “The Last Alaskans,” Discovery’s Friday night lineup seems to be going for some kind of a theme here. |
10 p.m. |
HBO |
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (C) |
A new installment of HBO’s live political comedy show during Memorial Day weekend, which Maher usually takes off. |
10 p.m. |
TBS |
“ELeague” (S) |
Live three-hour series premiere of TBS’s new story/character-driven eSports tournament, which starts following a group play between gamers competing in Valve’s “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.” |
SATURDAY, MAY 28 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
2:30 p.m. |
Fox |
“UEFA Champions League Soccer” (S) |
An all-Spain, all-Madrid finals match in Europe’s popular soccer tournament between Real Madrid CF and Atletico Madrid. |
5:30 p.m. |
Univision |
“FIFA Soccer” (M) |
A friendly match between Mexico and Paraguay, which should do well on an otherwise slow weekend for new programming. Complemented at 8 p.m. by a friendly match between Team USA and Bolivia on sister network UniMas. |
9 p.m. |
A&E |
“The First 48” (N) |
A&E’s documentary series, which has been on the air since 2004 and chronicles the first 48 hours of a homicide investigator’s work trying to solve a murder case, gets rebooted into themed episodes. Back-to-back installments premiere tonight. |
9 p.m. |
Reelz |
“National Inquirer Investigates” (N) |
Series premiere. New evidence in the death of Marilyn Monroe is examined with the latest forensic technology. Followed by an all-new episode of “Case Closed with A.J. Benza” about … yep, Marilyn Monroe’s death. |
9 p.m. |
Starz |
“Outlander” (D) |
Other premium channels take the night off and just show movies. Not Starz’ time traveling romantic drama, in which Claire and Jamie do their damnedest to turn Lord Lovat to their side while Jamie’s grandsire has plans of his own. |
10 p.m. |
Travel |
“The Dead Files” (R) |
A home with a history of paranormal activity in Patricksburg, PA, gets put through the paces by the paranormal investigators of this reality series already on its sixth season. |
SUNDAY, MAY 29 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
12 p.m. |
ABC |
“2016 Indianapolis 500” (S) |
The Memorial Day Weekend racing tradition continues. Juan Pablo Montoya defends his title during the 100th race of the event that started in 1911. Live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. |
3 p.m. |
NBC |
“2016 Senior PGA Championship” (S) |
Fiftysomething and over pros put the courses at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, MI, through the paces. |
5:30 p.m. |
Fox |
“NASCAR Racing” (S) |
Fox says “me too” and joins the Memorial Day weekend sports parade with its coverage of the Sprint Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 race, live from Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. |
8 p.m. |
NBC |
“The Carmichael Show” (C) |
For its second-season finale NBC’s topical sitcom tackles the biggest elephant in the room, or at least the biggest elephant vote-getter, with a Donald Trump episode. |
9 p.m. |
HBO |
“Game of Thrones” (D) |
Except for John Oliver taking the day off (boo!), all-new episodes of “GOT,” “Silicon Valley” and “Veep” should make for a fun Sunday night. |
10:30 p.m. |
AMC |
“Talking Preacher” (T) |
Series premiere of AMC’s new post-show discussion program, sandwiched between encores of “Preacher’s” 90-minute pilot which premiered last weekend. |
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show. |
Tags: abc, canceled shows, nashville, nashville canceled, nashville saved, tv this week, wednesday tv this week
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