We, the fans LOVE ABC’s Nashville and want to keep it on the air for years to come. Here’s a suggested fan’s guide for helping the show to get renewed. Read, use, comment, share and let’s show the world what Nashville fans are made of! 

About this blog

Fellow beloved Nashville fans, it’s that time of the year again. No, we’re not talking about the beginning of spring (although, hooray!!) but on ABC’s Nashville renewal drama.

If you’ve been a Nashville fan from the start and have been engaged, even a little, in social media, you’re already painfully aware of what we’re talking about and very possibly still trying to recover from last year. If you’re new to the Nashfest then A) Welcome aboard!! Isn’t Nashville GREAT?? B) We hope you enjoy a challenge.

The situation is as follows: Nashville is currently on its third season. Production wraps up in April but decisions regarding renewal/cancellation of ABC shows are made only around mid-May, usually a day before Nashville’s season finale. Why? Because we’re THAT lucky!!…And because that’s just how it works on ABC.

Each year presents us with a new set of renewal challenges and this season the challenge is not just support Nashville’s renewal for season 4 but also encourage ABC to promote Nashville and give it a fair chance so that season 4 won’t be its last.

The reason that’s the challenge this year and not just renewal like last year is because Nashville is actually likely to be renewed (not certain!!) for a fourth season thanks to syndication.

What does it mean? For a Network show to get a syndication deal it needs to reach 88 episodes. That’s why the common assumption is that once a show gets renewed for a full third season, even if ratings drop, the network will push it towards a fourth season in order to reach the magical  number of 88.

During the “fun times” of renewal negotiations last season, it was rumored that ABC plan to renew Nashville for only 13 episodes instead of 22. That could only mean one thing – the end of Nashville. Therefore, we could all relax only when it was announced that Nashville got a 22 episodes order.

So the good news is that thanks to syndication Nashville is likely to be renewed for a fourth season. Unfortunately, there are also bad news – It’s not certain and not enough!

Why renewal it not certain? Yes, we know. Quoting the cancellation bear “every show in the last seven years with 66 episodes after three seasons got renewed for a fourth season.” Still, when it comes to Nashville there are few things that makes us worry our beloved show may be that one rare exception:

Exhibit A: Remember those rumors we mentioned earlier about Nashville being renewed only for 13 episode and not 22? Well, looks like they weren’t rumors because unlike us the fans, that lived in oblivion the entire summer, the production of the show got the green light for 22 episodes only AFTER season 3 began airing.

Meaning, someone either lied in May when Nashville got renewed or someone changed their mind during the summer. Either way, that doesn’t help us to build confidence in ABC and so-called rock solid promises of a fourth season.

Exhibit B: The sad reality is that ABC hardly promotes Nashville and for the most part ignores its existence. It even got to a point where the good people on ABC’s promos department “forgot” to include it in their all-shows promo!! What’s that all about?!

That in itself doesn’t say Nashville won’t get renewed but the same as ‘exhibit A’, it doesn’t demonstrate a huge vote of confidence in the show from the network, so yes, we’re worried.

Exhibit C: Shows get renewed for many reasons and still, despite the many changes in the TV landscape during the last few years, RATINGS STILL MATTER and especially overnight/same day ones. Nashville‘s ratings are relatively stable but also modest at best. Yes, it can do worse but it can do better, much better. Better promotion, better relevant lead-ins and smarter scheduling can sure help improve ratings but that’s not up to us and the bottom line is that the current ratings doesn’t put a smile on the people that are supposed to make the decision re renewal/cancellation.

When we take all these factors into consideration we can’t help but reach the following conclusions:

1. Syndication is a key factor in the decision about renewing Nashville for a fourth season but it still doesn’t give us a 100% certainty despite what others say.
2. With or without syndication, ABC doesn’t seem to show enough confidence in Nashville that will lead us to believe the show has a chance to stay on-air beyond season 4.

Why renewal for fourth season is not enough? Even if ABC decides to renew Nashville for a fourth season it can still do a lot to change the show and eventually bury it.

One thing ABC can (and most likely will) do is move Nashville to a ratings death time slot, keep ignoring it, let it rotten there and cancel it at the end of its fourth season without giving it a real chance.

Another thing that can happen during “syndication year” is that that in an attempt to cut cost, ABC will move the Nashville production elsewhere. Atlanta is one option (that’s what FOX just did with “Sleepy Hollow” after the show barely got renewed for a third season). LA is another. Can you imagine Nashville NOT being filmed in Nashville? We sure can’t.

Let’s see, what else? Stop the little publicity they still do, stop releasing new songs and…well, sadly the sky is the limit.

Can we help? YES!!!!! Fans matter and the fact Nashville has a core loyal fan-base that “shows up” every week no matter what is something even ABC doesn’t take lightly; It’s an essence. This kind of fan-base, when being active may not be able to turn Nashville into huge ratings hit like ‘Empire’ but can still do a lot. We can get the network to take notice of the fact we’re here for the long run and make more and more people aware of the existence and high quality of this great show.

Active engaged fans will: A. Show the network Nashville is a safe bet and therefore worth keeping. B. Raise the visibility of the show in social media – something that’s important to the show’s PR. C. Help establish Nashville‘s status as a cult, critically acclaimed and beloved show. ‘Castle’ survives mostly thanks to its cult status among fans, ‘The Good Wife’ thanks to its good syndication deal and being critically acclaimed and the list goes on.

What can we do to help? Here’s a primary list of suggestion for things fans can do to show their support and help promote the show. It’s a lot (!) so we highly recommend picking one of two options, committing to it and giving it your all.

Let’s turn up the volume Nashies!!

1. Comment –The more WE talk about Nashville, the more OTHERS talk about it. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. So, the next time you read an article about Nashville or read an article that you think Nashville should get a mention in, simply join the conversation state your opinion. Few suggestions: TVline, Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stones, Spoiler TV, TV by numbers (the latter is mostly about ratings) .

2. Tag and Hashtag – For a conversation on social media to get noticed; people needs to be able to find it easily. No one will know we all love Nashville and talk about it non-stop if they can’t see it. The solution: When you talk about Nashville on social media remember to always tag Nashville and also, as much as you can, ABC network. Do it when you want to talk about the latest episode, the characters, the music, your plans to visit Nashville or anything else you can think of.

Important: Tagging and using hashtags is especially crucial on the same day the show airs and during LIVE broadcast. Networks don’t just measure same day ratings but also, more and more, social media trends. So make it a habit on #NashvilleWednesday to spread your Nashville love on social media. We also recommend you join the live-tweets during the show air-time to help it trend (and just to enjoy it since its VERY fun!).

– Twitter – Include the hashtags #Nashville, #NashvilleGetsUs, #RenewNashvilleS4 in your tweets and tag @Nashville_ABC, @ABCNnetwork, @ABC_Publicity.

– Facebook – Include the hashtags #NashvilleGetsUs, #RenewNashvilleS4 in your comments. For tagging: LIKE the official Nashville and ABC pages and when you comment about Nashville NOT on their pages tag them (@Nashville, @ABC Television Network). That way, when you talk about Nashville on Nashville Forever or on one of the (great) Nashville groups as Nashville Fans or ABC’s Nashville or on your page with your friends – tag Nashville in your comments and ABC network when you write something that you want the network to pay attention to.

3. Contact ABC – Sometime the direct approach is the best. How to do it?

– Tweet and Comment – Tweet ABC and comment on their page. Ask them to renew Nashville, congratulate them when they promote the show and tell them when you think they should promote it but don’t.

– Mail/Email: Write and ask ABc to renew Nashville and promote it more. Tell them who you are and keep it short, simple and respectful.

Mail should be addressed to: Mr Paul Lee, ABC Entertainment President, ABC Entertainment Group, 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521-4588

Email: Paul.Lee@abc.com (ABC Entertainment President) ; Patrick.K.Preblick@abc.com; Candice.A.Ashton@abc.com (Nashville’s publicity)

– Phone: Call ABC Burbank office at 1-818-560-1000 and ask for Paul Lee’s voicemail.

– Feedback: Go to ABC website and leave your feedback. Say you love the show and want to keep it on air. http://abc.go.com/feedback

4. Networking – To get something done it’s far better to work together. Follow other fans and fans account, join discussion groups (and even create ones on your own) if you feel and be an active part of the Nashville fans network. It helps the show in various ways and it’s also a great fun. TRUST US!

5. Get Creative: In the changing TV landscape vibrant creative fans communities matter! This blog, as well as Nashville Forever on Facebook and Twitter started as a fan’s reaction to the lack of in-depth writing on Nashville and a lack of a reliable sources of news about the show. There are so many fellow fans that do similar things and also much  other wonderful things that add so much to the fan experience and the show’s visibility as well as its media profile.

Read and write Nashville Fanfictions, Watch and create Nashville fan videos (popular searches are Rayna/Deacon or Juliette/Avery) and songs covers on Youtube… and it’s only the beginning. Share things that you love and let everyone know how wonderful this community is.

6. Watch: Above all: As much as you can WATCH NASHVILLE LIVE!!!!