Count on Dolly Parton being in a festive, holiday mood. Her Christmas movie from 2020 won an Emmy Sunday night.
Parton’s Christmas on the Square won the award for best television movie. The other finalists were Oslo, (HBO); Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lifetime); Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Prime Video) and Uncle Frank (Amazon Prime Video)
Dolly Parton did it all for the Netflix movie, her second Christmas-themed film. She starred in the movie and served as its executive producer. Plus, she also wrote 14 songs for it.
The movie also is nominated for an Emmy for outstanding choreography for scripted programming. The movie is up against Genius: Aretha; Lucifer and two entries from Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
The main Emmy ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 19. The ceremony then ushers in a new TV season. So summer game shows and reality series will come to an end, soon. But this weekend, the Emmys conducted three different events to honor other winners.
Dolly Parton Headlined Movie, But It Featured Talented Cast
Dolly Parton, obviously, was the headliner, since her name was in the title. However, she was surrounded by a terrific cast, including Christine Baranski and Debbie Allen. Baranski portrayed a jaded, bitter character who wants to sell her hometown. Naturally, Parton got to play an angel in this fresh take of the classic Christmas Carol.
She’s a country legend, but Dolly Parton also has had success in acting and producing. And this isn’t the first time the 75-year-old icon has been up for an Emmy. Back in 1978, she received an Emmy nod for her appearance on Cher’s television special.
Last year, another Netflix project, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones, also received an Emmy nomination for outstanding television movie. So did Christmas of Many Colors, her first-ever holiday movie.
Parton signed a deal with Netflix in 2018. She’s been super successful working with the streaming giant.
“As a songwriter, I have always enjoyed telling stories through my music.” Dolly Parton said when she signed the deal. “I am thrilled to be bringing some of my favorite songs to life with Netflix. We hope our show will inspire and entertain families and folks of all generations, and I want to thank the good folks at Netflix and Warner Bros. TV for their incredible support.”
Back in 2017, Dolly Parton made an appearance at the Emmys along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, all stars of 9 to 5. The trio got a lot of laughs, but drew criticism when Tomlin and Fonda took digs at then President Donald Trump.
Parton waited a few weeks to address the controversy. She answered in a very charming, Dolly-like way.
“They’re Lily and they’re Jane and I’m Dolly,” she told People. “So, they did their thing, I did mine,” she says. “Oh, we got a little flack from it, but you know, I can’t worry about all that.
“I don’t do politics,” Dolly Parton said. “I’m an entertainer. When I’m out there, if all else fails, I just do a boob joke.”
