Dolly Parton’s Struggling TV Show Found Rare Success on Thanksgiving
In 1987, Dolly Parton’s short-lived variety show traveled to her hometown for the Thanksgiving episode. While the show got off to a strong start, its viewership quickly began to decline. Parton said her Thanksgiving episode brought in a greater number of viewers than the ones in her studio, though.
Dolly Parton’s show saw a bump in viewership on Thanksgiving
Parton began hosting Dolly, a variety show, in 1987. Though it brought in many viewers in its first episode, her audience didn’t stick around.
“The truth was that people had tuned in out of curiosity and because the show had been hyped through the roof,” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “The ratings fell steadily after the premiere until they leveled off at about a fourteen share, which I think represents my core of true fans who would watch me if I went on TV and milked a goat. Come to think of it, milking a goat would have been more entertaining than some of the stuff that machine put out.”
Still, Parton brought in a bigger audience when the show went on the road. They did this for the first time for the Thanksgiving episode, which took place in Parton’s hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee.
“By far the most successful shows were the few episodes where we took the show on the road,” she wrote. “A Thanksgiving show back home, a show in Hawaii, one in New Orleans, and one in Nashville came a lot closer to allowing my personality to come through.”
In the Thanksgiving special, Parton attended the town’s Dolly Parton Day, traveled to Dollywood, and visited her childhood home and church.
The episode’s bump in viewers wasn’t enough to save the show, though, and it ended after one season.
