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CMT Shares Winter Programming Slate + Trailer for Final Season of NASHVILLE

Music News Desk | Broadway World | November 30, 2017

On the heels of record ratings growth, CMT today announced a multi-platform winter slate of original programming including the premiere dates for new docu-series "Music City," from the creator of "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach," and "CMT Crossroads: Kesha and Old Crow Medicine Show," as well as three new short-form digital series for YouTube: "How To Wear," "Street Art Stories," and "The Downtown Farmer." CMT is also debuting a new teaser for the final season of "Nashville," and revealing the first episode description. In the coming weeks, CMT will announce several new pilots.

The news comes on the heels of a strong year for CMT, including 51 consecutive weeks of year-over-year ratings growth, which is the longest active growth streak among all ad-supported cable. This quarter alone, CMT is generating the highest year-over-year gain of any Top 50 ad-supported cable channel in Women 18-49. Furthermore, CMT finished the 2017 Fiscal Year up +12% among Women 18-49 from the prior year and earned its highest-rated year since 2014. (L+SD Competitive Growth Streak as of December Week 2, 2016 based on Adult 18-49 coverage ratings, Weekly Total Day year-over-year growth among ad-supported cable networks. CMT Fiscal Year: October-September).

New docu-series "Music City" from famed unscripted executive producer Adam DiVello, the creator of iconic shows such as "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach," will premiere on Thursday, March 1 at 10pm ET/PT. Filmed in Nashville, the eight-episode series follows a group of young emerging artists chasing their dreams of success in the music industry, while struggling to balance their personal lives and relationships. A first-look teaser is available here.

Fresh off a pair of Grammy-nominations, critically-acclaimed pop singer/songwriter Kesha will join Grammy Award-winning Americana band Old Crow Medicine Show for an all-new "CMT Crossroads" collaboration premiering Wednesday, December 6 at 10pm ET/PT. Filmed in Nashville, home to both artists, the episode will feature performances of their biggest songs including selections from Kesha's latest No. 1 album Rainbow and Old Crow Medicine Show fan-favorite "Wagon Wheel." A promo is available here.

As previously announced, the final season of "Nashville" will premiere on Thursday, January 4 at 9pm ET/PT. With New Year's Eve looming, Deacon (Charles Esten) looks to distract himself from his own loneliness, but falls short despite the best efforts of people around him. After an onstage meltdown, Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) seeks to rid herself of self-doubt and the burden of unforgiving country music fans from an unlikely source. Maddie (Lennon Stella) gets invited to perform at a benefit in Los Angeles where she meets Jonah Ford (Nic Luken), pop music's newest and hottest young star. Following their personal and professional split, Gunnar (Sam Palladio) and Scarlett (Clare Bowen) struggle to find their voices as solo artists. Will (Chris Carmack) attempts to keep smiling after his own break-up with Zach (Cameron Scoggins). A new teaser clip can be viewed here. "Nashville" ranks as CMT's highest-rated and most-watched show in the network's history, averaging 2.1M weekly viewers (L+7).

Having grown its Facebook fanbase by more than 3,000% this year, CMT will continue to actively expand in digital with the launch of three new short-form series: "How to Wear," "Street Art Stories" and "The Downtown Farmer." The three series will be released weekly via CMT's YouTube channel and will be promoted on CMT's Facebook page.

Hosted by fashion influencer Mallory Ervin ("The Amazing Race"), "How to Wear" takes viewers on a fun, playful, and accessible fashion journey, teaching fans how to recreate the looks and trends of favorite country lifestyle celebrities from the glamorous red carpet to the sold-out concert stage to everyday popular street style. Each of the series' 10-episode order will focus on how to emulate a different celebrity's unique style, including Reese Witherspoon, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, Kelsea Ballerini, and more. The first episode, available now, features a look at the red carpet fashions and trends at the "2017 CMT Artists of the Year" special featuring Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Backstreet Boys, Lee Ann Womack, Danielle Bradbery and more. Additional episodes are available HERE. (The episode featuring Shania's fashion style is not available yet.)

"Street Art Stories" is an inspirational and in-depth 10-part documentary series offering the inside scoop behind the iconic, captivating, and most-Instagrammed urban murals and public art. The series is narrated by the creators themselves, who are working to beautify cities across the world... one can of spray paint at a time. Each episode will showcase the work of a different artist including Ruben Rojas, Teachr, Morley, Colette Miller, David King, MegZany, Gretta Kruesi, Wrdsmth, Dytch66 and more. Three episodes are available here.

In January, CMT will premiere "The Downtown Farmer," hosted by Chef Loreal Gavin. The 10-episode series profiles how the urban farm movement blends with the food truck trend, highlighting rustic and delicious mobile fine-dining experiences.

"Music City" is produced by Done and Done Productions in association with Lionsgate. Adam DiVello serves as creator and executive producer.

"CMT Crossroads" is produced by CMT's Margaret Comeaux and Switched On Entertainment's John Hamlin.

"Nashville" is produced by Lionsgate and Opry Entertainment with executive producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (the creators of "Thirtysomething"), Steve Buchanan and Callie Khouri.

"How To Wear," "Street Art Stories," and "The Downtown Farmer" are produced by Whalerock Industries.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/CMT-Shares-Winter-Programming-Slate-Trailer-for-Final-Season-of-NASHVILLE-20171130