Nashville season 5 possible says ABC boss

The fat lady won’t sing for Nashville this year.

ABC is confident that the Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere country drama will be back for a fifth season, network boss Paul Lee told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s press tour on Saturday.

“We don’t have any plans to finish Nashville,” he said. “We have an incredibly passionate audience. The Nashville audience grows by a large amount in our delay viewings. No, at this point, no plans for Nashville other than to keep it going.”

Ratings wise, Nashville saw big growth in the Live + 7 numbers, with its fall finale raising 125 percent in the 18-49 demographic (from .8 to 1.8).

Nashville — which left off with Rayna (Britton) accepting Deacon’s (Charles Esten) proposal — returns March 16 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.