CMT has announced a 13-episode second season pickup of its hit series Still The King, starring Billy Ray Cyrus, Joey Lauren Adams and Madison Iseman. The one-hour season finale airs Sunday, August 14th at 9 pm ET/PT. Season two will begin production this fall and is slated to premiere next year. Fans can catch up on this season now at CMT.com, on the CMT app and VOD.
The premiere of Still The King on June 8th marked CMT’s highest rated original series premiere to date grossing more than 4.7 million total viewers (L+3) for a stellar 1.03 rating A18-49 rating across a three network simulcast (CMT, TV Land, Nick@Nite). The series is currently reaching nearly 4.5 million viewers each week.
“Working on the series has been a career highlight,” said executive producer and star Billy Ray Cyrus. “Thanks to the fans for embracing these crazy characters and all of their beautiful flaws. We’re going to take this mess to a whole new level next season.”
“The success of Still The King is a wonderful start for our move into scripted programming,” said Jayson Dinsmore, EVP of development for CMT. “Both charming and irreverent, this series is like nothing else on television and we can’t wait to continue the journey.”
“Working on the series has been a career highlight.”
Still The King features Billy Ray Cyrusas Vernon Brown, AKA “Burnin’ Vernon,” a scandal-ridden washed up one-hit wonder who is kicked out of country music, only to emerge 20 years later as the second best Elvis impersonator. After crashing into an old country church outside of Nashville during a drunken bender, he is sentenced to return and perform community service. Instead, he pretends to be the congregation’s new minister and re-connects with a former one-night-stand (Joey Lauren Adams), only to discover he has a 15-year-old daughter he’s never met (Madison Iseman).
The series is part of CMT’s most diverse programming line-up to date, featuring a mix of scripted programs (including the forthcoming premieres of Nashville and Million Dollar Quartet), unscripted series (including I Love Kellie Pickler, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making The Team, and Broken Skull Challenge), original documentaries (including the forthcoming premiere of The Bandit) and music events (including CMT Music Awards, CMT Artists of the Year, and the forthcoming CMT Concert of the Summer).
Still The King is produced by Hideout Pictures with Billy Ray Cyrus serving as executive producer and writer. Shannon Houchins, Potsy Ponciroli and Travis Nicholson also executive produce. Julia Silverton and Jayson Dinsmore executive produce for CMT.