All Signs Point To Yes For ‘Nashville’ Third Season

Will ABC’s Nashville see a third season?

Will we continue to follow the lives of new indie label boss Rayna Jaymes, scorned star Juliette Barnes, rising newcomer Scarlett O’Connor, guitarist-turned-father Deacon Claybourne, songwriter Gunnar Scott, and the string of love triangles, murders, backhanded business dealings and of course, enchanting music?

It’s likely.

ABC is certainly putting its promotional muscle behind the series with the recent Nashville: On The Record taping at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The show featured Charles Esten, Hayden Panettiere, Sam Palladio, Clare Bowen, Joshua Jackson, Chaley Rose, Will Chase, Chris Carmack and others, along with several of Nashville’s top singer-songwriters, including Jaida Dreyer, Ashley Monroe and Striking Matches. It is slated to air April 23 on ABC.

Additionally, a limited Nashville tour has sold out, and an additional date has already been added for May 5 in Philadelphia. Esten, Bowen, Jackson, Palladio and Carmack will perform in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia and New York City (with Chase also appearing in NYC).

Sources in the know say they are confident the show will be picked up for a third season.

Songs from the show boast 3 million in track sales, according to Big Machine Label Group, which will release the series’ fourth soundtrack next month.

The show’s season 2 premiere ratings brought in 6.5 million viewers (with an additional 2.9 million DVR viewers), while 2012’s pilot episode garnered 8.93 million viewers, with an additional 3.52 million viewing via DVR.

Of course, the television show is one factor that has aided Music City’s turn in the tourism spotlight, landing Nashville on several ‘best of’ lists and garnering ink from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and other outlets. A recent study found that 43 percent of surveyed Nashville tourists were influenced to visit Music City after seeing episodes of Nashville. Of those surveyed, 55 percent had seen the show and 58 percent were first-time visitors. Many Nashville venues, most famously the Bluebird Cafe, have seen unprecedented numbers of visitors after being featured on the show.

An announcement about Nashville is expected very soon, and ABC execs are scheduled to officially reveal its fall lineup on May 13 in New York City.

Nashville’s season 2 finale airs May 14.