CMT will continue playing music in Nashville for at least another season.

The network has opted for another season of the music-oriented series despite the loss of it's most prestigious character at the end of Nashville Season 5A.

There is also a new addition to the cast as well as an announcement of when you can expect Season 5B to begin airing!!

“Nashville is our biggest hit and we’re thrilled its fans have now become consistent CMT viewers,” said CMT president Brian Philips.

“As fans ourselves, we couldn’t be happier with our hometown show’s creative resurgence! We can’t wait for you to see what comes next.”

It all goes like this.

Season 5B will begin airing on June 1, while Nashville Season 6 will return at the beginning of 2018.

Jeffrey Nordling, hot off a great performance on HBO's Big Little Lies, is joining the cast, as well.

Nordling will play Brad Maitland, an extremely successful, charming, egotistical, narcissistic owner of the most successful record label in Nashville.

In fact, he sounds a lot like his character from Big Little Lies. Let's just hope under all of those adjectives lies a heart of gold, too.

Nordling joins previously announced new cast members Rachel Bilson (Hart of Dixie) and Kaitlin Doubleday (Empire), on whose characters no such information was given.

The upcoming sixth season of Nashville will consist of 16 episodes versus 22, which is still considerably high for a cable outlet, which tends to lean toward 13 episode seasons presently. 

Given the lucky number of 16, however, it seems a good guess that Nashville will, once again, be split into Season A and B, and aired throughout the year.

If this news is surprising to viewers, consider what Paramount Network President Kevin Kay told The Hollywood Reporter last month:

"There was the Rayna death and funeral, which was more highly rated than her death episode. And then there was only one episode after that," he said.

"I can't tell you that there's data to support my notion that Nashville should continue, but I believe it should continue. We're trying to figure out how we continue Nashville because the fans want it. If the ratings were to fall off a little bit? Who cares! I feel very bright about the future of Nashville."

That's the kind of attitude we wish all of our network presidents would have, right??

When Nashville Season 5 continues on June 1, it will pick up 10 weeks after the tragic events that occurred during the finale.

At that time, you can expect Scarlet and Gunnar to receive some baby news, or Deacon to be helping and unmotivated Daphne on a school project and for Juliette to reach out to Maddie with unsolicited advice about a song. 

In other words, the world will continue spinning for the characters we've grown to love, just as it does in our own lives when someone we loves dies.

What do you think of the news?

Are you totally excited and thrilled new characters will come in to brighten the shadows left in Rayna Jaymes' wake?

Hit the comments and tell us what you think.

And if all of this news of death and loss was news to you, don't you think you better watch Nashville online before the June 1 premiere??

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.