Dolly Parton’s upcoming special, “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas,” will help ring in the holiday season on Thursday, December 1, 2022. The movie musical airs at 8pm ET/PT on NBC and will feature special guests Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmie Allen, Zach Williams, and Miley Cyrus, joining the iconic superstar for some lighthearted fun.
The film’s cast includes Tom Everett Scott, Angel Parker, Ana Gasteyer, Mary Lane Haskell, Bryan Batt, and Brendan Bradley. John Newberg, Rachel Parton George, Cassie Parton Griffith, Rhoda Griffis, Liam Rauhoff, and Steve Summers also star.
Joe Lazarov directed from a screenplay by David Rambo. Lazarov, Rambo, Dolly Parton, Sam Haskell, and Hudson Hickman executive produced, and Billy Levin and Steve Summers served as producers. Emmy winner Kathryn Burns provided the choreography along with assistant choreographer David Hull.
NBC offered this official description of the plot:
“A modern-day movie musical about the making of a network TV special, Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas is the frenetic backstage story and delightful on-camera results of Dolly’s desire to uplift an exhausted world’s spirits by sharing the unique mountain magic she has always found in and around Dollywood at Christmas. Throughout the movie’s production numbers and rehearsal chaos, Dolly finds herself taking a private journey into her past, guided by the mysterious appearances of her personal Three Wise Mountain Men.
When it’s time for her big special to air, a renewed and inspired Dolly goes rogue and shows the world that the real magic of Christmas lies in the hearts of the children we all once were, the realization that Christmas is about the people we share it with, and how her faith remains the common thread between Christmases past, present, and future.
The film will include a pair of Dolly’s iconic songs (‘9 to 5’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’) as well as a new holiday melody. In all, there are numerous songs that capture the spirit of Christmas and the importance of gathering with family during the holidays.”
