Some of Dolly Parton's most beloved songs are being brought to life courtesy of the Dolly Parton's Heartstrings cast. The new Netflix anthology series transforms eight Parton tunes — "Jolene," "These Old Bones," "If I Had Wings," "JJ Snead," "Two Doors Down," "Down From Dover," "Sugar Hill," and "Cracker Jack" — into TV episodes that, at upwards of 60 minutes each, act more like mini-movies.
As in previous recreations of her music — like 2015's Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors, in which she appeared as the narrator — Parton appears at the outset of every Heartstrings episode to introduce the stories, and she also makes acting cameos throughout the show. But it's the rotating cast of actors who do the brunt of the storytelling. It's still characteristically Dolly; she's just letting others take the lead.
Among the dozens of actors featured throughout the series, avid pop culture fans will recognize a number of faces from movies and TV, including Dallas Roberts (The Walking Dead), David Denman (The Office), and Virginia Gardner (Marvel's Runaways). But because there are almost too many to count, here are the 13 biggest names to look out for when Heartstrings hits Netflix on Friday, Nov. 22.
Julianne Hough
Triple threat Julianne Hough portrays the infamous beauty beyond compare from Parton's "Jolene." To promote the show, Hough and Parton issued a #JoleneChallenge asking people to send in their best renditions of the popular song.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Considering the Father of the Bride star is married to Brad Paisley, she knows a thing or two about country music. Her Heartstrings character is the one who pleads with Jolene not to steal her husband, like in the lyrics. But in the episode, Jolene and Williams-Paisley's character also have a friendship.
Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner isn't taking as many roles as she did back in the '80s and '90s, when she appeared in movies like Peggy Sue Got Married and Romancing the Stone, but she told People that when Parton called her directly to ask her to play the mountain woman thought to be a witch in "These Old Bones," she couldn't turn her down.
Ginnifer Goodwin
Ginnifer Goodwin also stars in "These Old Bones" as Genevieve, the lawyer who must prosecute Turner's character. She'll return to TV again with her CBS All Access show Why Women Kill after her tenure on Once Upon a Time.
Gerald McRaney
Gerald McRaney stars in "If I Had Wings" opposite his wife, Delta Burke of Designing Women. McRaney has been acting for decades, but you may know him best from his most recent turns in House of Cards and This Is Us. He also appeared in Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors.
Colin O'Donoghue
Goodwin isn't the only Once Upon a Time actor to appear in Heartstrings: Captain Hook himself portrays the ill-fated JJ Sneed.
Willa Fitzgerald
Expect epic things from this Scream star when Willa Fitzgerald shows off what an outlaw she can be in "JJ Sneed."
Melissa Leo
Oscar winner Melissa Leo plays the matriarch of a family in "Two Doors Down." Next up for The Fighter and I'm Dying Up Here star will be the HBO miniseries I Know This Much Is True opposite Mark Ruffalo.
Andy Mientus
Considering his singing chops in musicals like Spring Awakening, Les Misérables, and Wicked, Andy Mientus might just break out into song in "Two Doors Down." The theater star also appeared in Season 2 of Smash and as the Pied Piper in The Flash.
Katie Stevens
Another singer in "Two Doors Down" is The Bold Type's Katie Stevens, who first appeared on TV in 2010 while competing in Season 9 of American Idol.
Bellamy Young
Since saying goodbye to her Scandal character Mellie in 2018, Bellamy Young has appeared in the canceled Whiskey Cavalier and current show Prodigal Son. Here, she pops up in "Down from Dover."
Timothy Busfield
Busfield was the senior White House Correspondent on The West Wing who had a relationship with Allison Janney's C.J. But he'll be reuniting with another TV romantic interest in "Sugar Hill" — Patricia Wettig, who played his estranged spouse in the TV series Thirtysomething.
Rochelle Aytes
Rochelle Aytes takes a break from the horror of The Purge for "Cracker Jack," a heartwarming story about a beloved dog.
Considering Parton's music catalog is so extensive, a second season of Heartstrings seems imminent, so look forward to an even longer list of stars next time around.
