Dolly Parton is planning an A-list Christmas special with some of her best friends. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas film will feature appearances from her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus (as well as pops Billy Ray Cyrus), as well as Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Allen and Zach Williams.
The NBC holiday musical movie will air at an as-yet-unspecified time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and star the 76-year-old country icon, alongside actors Tom Everett Scott, Ana Gasteyer and Angel Parker.
The meta project is described as a “modern-day movie musical” about the making of a network TV special. THR reported that as Dolly strives to make a show that shares the “mountain magic” at her Dollywood resort around the holidays, she finds herself “taking a private journey into her past, guided by the mysterious appearances of her personal Three Wise Mountain Men.”
The description of the project adds that, “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.”
Warner Bros. Television is producing the movie along with Magnolia Hill Productions and Sandollar Productions, with Parton signed on as one of the executive producers.
Before that, Parton will team up with Kelly Clarkson for an update of the country legend’s ode to working women, “9 to 5,” which is due out on Sept. 9. The song was first heard in the documentary Still Working 9 to 5, which premiered at SXSW earlier this spring. Featuring interviews with Parton, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dabney Coleman, Allison Janney, Rita Moreno and more, the film looks back on the 40th anniversary of the classic 1980 film and the continuing fight for women’s rights and gender equality.
