USA TODAY International Edition
He’s a sitcom star, too
Cable channel keeps focus on music, sheds its ‘ redneck’ brand
Cyrus’ ‘ Still the King’ kicks off CMT’s new look
CMT is flipping the script on its original programming.
For years, the cable network has been TV’s hub for country music videos, live- music events and down- home reality shows such as Redneck Island and Party Down South. But CMT is in the midst of a major rebranding, which started this summer with the debut of its first scripted original, the Billy Ray Cyrus sitcom Still the King, and continues into next year with a slew of other scripted offerings.
First and foremost is soapy music series Nashville, which ABC canceled after four seasons in May before CMT swooped in to revive the low- rated drama. With its principal cast intact, led by Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, Nashville returns Jan. 5 with a two- hour premiere ( 9 ET/ PT).
After ABC gave Nashville the ax, the call from CMT was “pretty immediate,” says Chris Selak, executive VP of studio Lionsgate Television. The series, which follows an aging country star ( Britton), will switch networks with minimal changes. “In terms of ( CMT) being the right home, it always made sense. They’re going to be able to reach out to core fans while also getting the word out to new ones.”
For CMT, the idea is to “not only use Nashville to bring viewers to the channel, but as a spark plug to ignite interest in all of our other ( shows),” says programming chief Jayson Dinsmore. That includes Million Dollar Quartet, which will swivel its hips onto the channel as an eight- part limited series in March. Adapted from the Broadway musical, the Memphis- set drama will chart the rise of music legends including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, guided by rock ’ n’ roll godfather Sam Phillips ( Chad Michael Murray).
Murray ( One Tree Hill) describes Quartet as “a highbrow, Boardwalk Empire- meets- Mad Men- style period drama,” set during Hollywood’s Golden Age at the onset of the civil rights movement. “It was fascinating to come in and see this world from their points of view: from Elvis at 17, Johnny Cash at 19, and Sam at 29 coming to Memphis,” Murray says. Viewers will “find a new respect for these young artists who didn’t see color back then.”
A second season of King will follow later in the spring. The comedy, which stars Cyrus as a washed- up singer, notched CMT’s highest- rated premiere for an original series and averaged 602,000 viewers last season. ( CMT’s prime- time average of 288,000 is up slightly, in contrast to many of its Viacom sibling channels). “It did quite well,” Dinsmore says, “but we also recognize the value of serialized, binge- worthy television serving two purposes: driving a conversation on social media and creating a need to return to the channel week after week.”
Two hopefuls with potential to do just that are Varsity Blues, adapted from the 1999 football movie, and His Wives & Daughters, a comic melodrama in the vein of Desperate Housewives.
Moving forward, the goal is to add at least one new scripted comedy or drama each year to the lineup, which also features original documentaries, sitcom reruns, music programs such as CMT Crossroads and the CMT Music Awards, and unscripted
shows including Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team and I Love Kellie Pickler ( back Thursday at 9 and 10 ET/ PT, respectively). Party and Redneck, which proved tough sells to advertisers, are gone.
On Pickler, the American Idol alum and her husband, country artist Kyle Jacobs, “let people into our home,” she says. The new season includes “adrenaline- junkie moments” such as skydiving and a trip to Tokyo while showing the ins and outs of their careers.
“Music is still the starting gate and drives almost everything we have in development,” Dinsmore says. “We’ve come up with this idea that we should live at the crossroads of tradition and change. Historically, there might have been a bit of a perception that we were Southern and quite honestly ‘ redneck,’ but we are certainly not that. For the future, we’re headed toward a much clearer, cleaner brand.”