Nashville TV show cancelled by ABC. Hayden Panettiere as Juliette Barnes and Jonathan Jackson as Avery Barkley. Photo: ABC/Mark Levine.

We previously reported that there was an alternate, happy ending shot for the Nashville TV show, which was recently cancelled by ABC. Lionsgate TV, instead, decided to go with the originally planned cliffhanger, which left Juliette Barnes’ (Hayden Panettiere) fate up in the air (sorry) after her plane disappeared. Now, Lionsgate is reportedly ready to make the happy ending, involving a reunion between Juliette and Avery (Jonathan Jackson), available to fans.

Lionsgate chair, Kevin Beggs, said they decided to go with the cliffhanger, because it was a better story. That said, it was also an intentional move, in the effort to tempt another network or platform to order the fifth season of Nashville. The Country Music drama series also stars Connie Britton, Clare Bowen, Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella, and Chris Carmack.

Here is more, from THR (emphasis added):

So what will come of that unaired happy ending scene between Avery and Juliette? Producing partners ABC Studios have rights to the DVD distribution deal, though Beggs said Lionsgate would make an alternate conclusion available. “I’m sure we would figure out a satisfying way for audiences to see an alternative ending — but it won’t be as good as the ending we have given them,” he said. “In a perfect world, we’d be making this show for many more seasons. Our hope and intention is to have an asset that continues to grow for many years.”

For now, syndicated repeats of Nashville can be found on music-themed network AXS TV as Beggs says he’s open to a spin-off of sorts — so long as it starts with a fifth season of the flagship.

“We love spin-offs, but it’s premature to think about that because we feel the flagship has many more miles to go,” he said. “If the right opportunity came, we would do it, but it would be in the context of continuing with this and seeing where we go down the line.”

Although Lionsgate TV has not confirmed where it is shopping the fifth season of Nashville, most reports have mentioned Hulu, which currently has the first four seasons of Nashville available to paid subscribers. Other outlets rumored to be in the running are Netflix, CMT, Lifetime, Bravo, and E!. The THR report includes a reminder that Lionsgate owns the Epix and Pop TV channels.

Reportedly, Beggs and Lionsgate TV have not ruled out a deal like the one Connie Britton’s Friday Night Lights got, from DirecTV and NBC. The first two seasons of Friday Night Lights ran exclusively on NBC (in first run). When the critically acclaimed high school football drama under-performed in the ratings, NBCUniversal made a deal in which subsequent seasons would be co-produced by DirecTV, which then ran the series months ahead of the NBC network broadcast.

What do you think? Do you want to see the happy ending of the Nashville TV series? Do you think another network or streaming service will order season five of the Nashville TV show? Where do you think the show belongs?