Fans Petition to Save ‘Nashville’

Fans of the TV show Nashville have launched an online petition with the goal of saving the series.

Matthew Nelson began the Change.org petition following the news of the drama's cancellation on May 12. The "Renew Nashville for Season 5" petition will be sent to nine different networks -- NBC, CBS, ABC, CMT, TNT, AMC, Hulu, Netflix and Amazon -- that may be interested in picking the show up for its fifth season. As of publish time, more than 85,000 fans have signed the petition; Nelson is looking for 150,000 signatures.

In addition to the petition, Nashville fans have been using the #BringBackNashville hashtag to draw attention to the matter, and stars of the show, including Clare Bowen and Lennon and Maisy Stella, have tweeted their support. Lionsgate, the TV drama’s production company, is also shopping the show to other possible outlets.

Deadline reports that the departure of Paul Lee, former ABC network president and a big supporter of the show, may have something to do with Nashville's cancellation.

“Internally on the network side, it was kind of the best fit for things on the schedule — obviously looking at ratings, looking at our own finances and looking at some of the new development,” ABC’s new president, Channing Dungey, explains (quote via Us Weekly). “A lot of the decisions really did come down to the wire, which is the difficult thing about these jobs. You have to kind of weigh and measure a lot of different things."

Indeed, castmember Charles Esten revealed that the show’s cast and crew were just as surprised by the cancellation as fans. Showrunners were already in place for Season 5.

A handful of Nashville castmembers spent April and May touring the United States; a European trek is scheduled for June. Additionally, a new soundtrack is out now. Nashville's Season 4 finale, which is set to air on Wednesday (May 25), will serve as the series finale.

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