(ABC/Mark Levine)

During the Peak TV panel at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, ABC Studios Executive Vice President Patrick Moran talked about the deal with CMT and Hulu to pick up the previously cancelled Nashville TV show, for a full fifth season. It is often financially impossible for a smaller cable network, like CMT, to pick up a show like Nashville, which was made for ABC, a major broadcast network.

The next-day dual streaming deal with Hulu and incentives from the state, the city, and the tourism and hospitality industry, were essential to saving Nashville, starring Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Clare Bowen, Charles Esten, and Jonathan Jackson.

Nashville TV show season 4 finale image: ABC/Mark Levine.

From Deadline:

“There are a lot of people that spend a lot of time looking at the economics of these shows,” [Moran] said. “It’s a giant puzzle that you put all theses pieces together that you hope covers the cost of the show and a little extra. It’s tricky when each one of those line items gets tighter.”

[…]

“I’m so happy we were able to keep [Nashville] alive but the economics were tight,” Moran said. “I’m happy we were able to make this work with Hulu and CMT.”

Nashville has a devoted fan following similar to other series that found new homes after cancellation including Longmire and Community. That helped, Moran said.

“I do think if there is a certain degree of passion for some of these shows it helps in keeping some momentum and some traction,” he said. “But it is a complicated equation and you do feel the pressure of it not making as much money” and “costing more.”

What do you think? Are you happy to be getting more of the Nashville TV series? Will you watch Nashville‘s fifth season on CMT or Hulu? What other recently cancelled shows have a chance of being saved?