The made-for-TV movie inspired by Parton’s beloved tune will air Thursday on NBC.
“My favorite song that I’ve ever written” says Dolly Parton, “tells a true story from my childhood about a little coat that my mama made for me.” And now the story of that beloved 1971 tune — “Coat of Many Colors” — is being retold in a made-for-television movie set to air at 9 pm ET Thursday, December 10, on NBC.
Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, based on the inspiring true story of the country music icon’s remarkable upbringing, is set in the Tennessee Great Smokey Mountains in 1955. Neither a biopic nor a musical about Parton’s whole life and performing career, it is a family-oriented, faith-based drama about incidents in her and her family’s life around the time she was 9 years old. Directed by veteran filmmaker Stephen Herek (The Mighty Ducks, Mr. Holland’s Opus) and written by Pamela K. Long, the film focuses on members of the tight-knit Parton family as they struggle to overcome devastating tragedy and discover the healing power of love, faith, and a raggedy patchwork coat that helped make Parton who she is today.
Jennifer Nettles of the duo Sugarland plays Parton’s mother, Avie Lee Parton, while Ricky Schroeder of Lonesome Dove plays her father, Lee Parton. Gerald McRaney — recently seen in the Longmire TV series — appears as Grandpa Jake Owens, and newcomer Alyvia Alyn Lind portrays 9-year-old Dolly Parton.
Here is a preview of Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, introduced by Parton herself.
