CMT announced that country stars Kellie Pickler and Billy Ray Cyrus will be appearing in two new series in the upcoming years.
Pickler, former American Idol contestant, will be appearing in the unscripted series I Love Kellie Pickler with her husband Kyle Jacobs. The Dancing With the Stars winner and Pickler announced their show at The Times Center in New York City on Thursday.
Pickler said the show was like a “southern ‘I Love Lucy,'” according to Fox News. The show is expected to focus on Pickler’s personal life; however, it will also give fans a glimpse into her professional life. Jacobs is said to be producing her next studio album. The show is expected to hit screens on September 18.
Fans are expected to experience how the Red High Heels singer makes her marriage work in the high-energy series. She describes her husband as her “complete opposite.” Brian Phillips, CMT president, stated that Pickler has always “been the object of desire” for a TV series.
CMT also announced that a new scripted comedy series, starring Billy Ray Cyrus, is in the works. It is expected to premiere in 2016.
In the series, Cyrus plays a country one-hit wonder who reclaims his fame as an Elvis impersonator in Nevada 20 years later. The character, Vernon Brown, gets into a situation that brings him back to Nashville. Upon arrival, he finds out that he has a 15-year-old daughter and impersonates a minister.
The Viacom-owned cable network has also ordered its first nightly talk show The Josh Wolf Show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Chelsea Handler will produce the show and be featured on it; the show is set to debut June 11.
The network also announced that new seasons of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, Party Down South and Party Down South 2 will premiere. Jayson Dinsmore, executive VP of development at CMT, said that CMT is “on fire” and developing “more original content than ever.”