According to a report by Deadline, CMT has officially renewed I Love Kellie Pickler for a third season, and renewed Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders for 12th season. They also announced summer premiere dates for other shows on their slate.
I Love Kellie Pickler premiered in 2015, and the second season premiered in fall of 2016. The reality series follows Kellie Pickler and her husband Kyle Jacobs, as they try new things, revisit old ones, and connect with people. Each episode title begins with ‘I Love …’, and have taken the couple places like Dollywood, a NASCAR track, and a Sonic Drive-In. The third season will premiere on Thursday, August 3, at 11 PM ET/PT.
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team originally premiered in 2006. The series features DCC director Kelli McGonagill Finglass, choreographer Judy Trammell (both former DCCs from the ’80s), and former Army drill sergeant Jay Johnson (who is the founder of ‘Boot Camp Fitness’) who is responsible for the conditioning camps and drills the girls must complete. Last season, the series averaged 3.3 million weekly viewers. The twelfth season of the series will premiere Thursday, August 3 at 10 PM.
Still the King, starring Billy Ray Cyrus, will return on Tuesday, July 11 at 10 PM for a second season. The series follows Vernon Brownmule, aka “Burnin’ Vernon” (Cyrus) a ‘scandal-ridden, washed-up, one-hit-wonder’, who after leaving the country music scene 20 years prior, reconnects with a former one-night-stand (Joey Lauren Adams), and learns he has a 15-year-old daughter (Madison Iseman) that he’s never met. Oh, and he’s also an Elvis impersonator.
CMT also has Nashville, originally at ABC, which is the brand’s most successful show by far. The show has been renewed for a sixth season, with the second half of the fifth season set to premiere in June.
As far as unscripted programming, CMT also hosts the CMAs (Country Music Awards), which will be hosted by Nashville’s Charles Esten this year, on Wednesday, June 7 at 8 PM. CMT Instant Jam will premiere a week later, on Friday, June 16 at 10 PM. CMT will also host the first-ever ever CMT Crossroads on Friday June 23 at 10 PM, which will be an outdoor concert with country bands joined by iconic music group Earth Wind & Fire.
Also look for the new series To Joey, With Love, a series that follows Rory Fleek and the late Joey Fleek over a two year period. Known for the bluegrass group Joey + Rory, the couple had a child with Down Syndrome in 2014, and Joey died of cervical cancer in 2016. The series will premiere Wednesday, June 21 at 8 PM.
With Viacom reevaluating their properties, and CMT not being included among the six core brands, the future of the channel is uncertain. But it seems they will be around at least for another year (and has a lot for its fans to look forward to!)