Netflix’s new anthology series, Heartstrings, will bring life to Dolly Parton’s biggest hits, with Julianne Hough taking the role as the man-taking Jolene in the episode of an unlikely friendship.
However, the icon recently revealed to Entertainment Tonight that she originally dreamed that her goddaughter Miley Cyrus would be cast. ”Years back when I used to think of Jolene, you know, before Julianne came on, I used to think… I’d love — Miley would have been great at that as well,” she said. “But Miley was doing other things. It wasn’t that kind of a thing, but she would have been great in that as well.”
On the decision to cast Hough, Parton said she looked through “a lot of people” before making the call. ”We wanted it to be someone that kind of was described in the song, with auburn hair, ivory skin, the emerald green eyes, which she had all of that,” she said. “All she had to do was put on this beautiful red hair and she was the most beautiful Jolene you could ever, ever get.”
Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings will premiere Nov. 22 on Netflix. The eight episodes include “These Old Bones,” “If I Had Wings,” “JJ Sneed,” “Jolene,” “Cracker Jack,” “Sugar Hill,” “Down From Dover” and “Two Doors Down.”