“Still the King” has been picked up for a 13-episode second season by CMT. The Billy Ray Cyrus-starring comedy was one of CMT’s first original scripted joints, premiering on June 8 to 4.7 million viewers across three days of viewing on three networks (CMT, TV Land and Nick@Nite). Season 2 will begin production in the fall for a 2017 debut.
Cyrus stars as “Burnin’ Vernon” Brown, the second-best-Elvis-impersonator-turned-minister in a small town outside of Nashville. In reconnecting with a one-night stand (Joey Lauren Adams), he discovers he has a 15-year-old daughter (Madison Iseman).
“Working on the series has been a career highlight,” said executive producer and star 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 renewal feeds into CMT’s strategy to transform itself into a destination for original series, a plan bolstered by the network’s pickup of the next season of Lionsgate TV’s “Nashville,” which was cancelled by ABC after four seasons in the annual pre-upfront purge.
“Still the King” is produced by Hideout Pictures with 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.
