NBC will make a television movie based on the Dolly Parton song “Jolene.”
The project was announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour Thursday by executive producer Sam Haskell.
The film will be written by John Sacret Young, creator of the television drama “China Beach” and a writer and producer on “The West Wing.”
NBC in January announced a deal to partner with Parton on multiple family-oriented projects. Haskell and Parton appeared at TCA to help promote the first project from the deal, the TV movie “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” which has yet to be shot. They were joined by cast members Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder and Alyvia Lind.
Released in 1973, “Jolene” tells the story of one woman pleading to another “please, don’t take my man.” It has been covered since by The White Stripes, Olivia Newton John, and Reba McEntire, among others.