A Series of TV Movies Inspired by Dolly Parton’s Life? Yes, Please!

There are few lives as rife for an adapted narrative as Dolly Parton’s. And so, understandably, NBC has signed a contract with Parton for the creation of “a series of TV movies” that will be inspired by her life and songs. And, with Lifetime not at the helm of these TV movies, there’s a chance they might actually be watchable.

With the announcement coming just in time to honor Parton’s January 19th birthday (she’s still a spring chicken at 69 years old)–not just a day dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.–the enthusiasm behind Parton’s biography and work displays a continued interest in her jubilant and enduring spirit. It also shows that people have been able to forgive her for making the atrocity that was Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah.

As a child star for the radio and TV, Parton began singing locally in her neck of the Tennessee woods. By the time she was in her teens, Parton had already appeared on Grand Ole Opry and met Johnny Cash (tantamount to Elvira meeting Elvis Presley in Vegas when she was a seventeen-year-old showgirl). This very incident alone makes for ten minutes worth of a plot point.
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Throughout her seasoned career, Parton has experienced a series of triumphs and traumas, always punctuated by the distinct and melliflously alluring sound of her music. To quote David Brent before he quotes Dolly Parton on The Office, “Life is just a series of peaks and troughs. And you don’t know whether you’re in a trough until you’re climbing out, or on a peak until you’re coming down. And that’s it you know, you never know what’s round the corner.” Perhaps there’s no better indication of that than the life of Dolly Parton, making her ideal fodder for an epic miniseries with all of the character and plot arcs built in.