Dolly Parton Series Headed for Netflix

Hot on the heels of massive production deals with Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy and Barack and Michelle Obama, Netflix has announced a deal with someone else who enjoys similar iconic status: Dolly Parton!

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is working with Parton to produce a scripted anthology series, with a fitting twist. Each of the series' eight short films will be based on one of Parton's songs.

There's no word yet as to which songs will be turned into films. You can almost count on "Jolene" being one of them, since a "Jolene" film was to be next in a series of NBC productions that yielded two TV movies based on her autobiographical song "Coat of Many Colors." But with a catalog as broad and deep as Parton's, there's a lot to choose from. What else might be on the menu? We have some ideas:

* There's supposedly a reboot/sequel of the film 9 to 5 already in the works. Given that Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, Parton's co-stars in the 1980 original, already play the title roles in their own Netflix series Grace and Frankie, it seems feasible that the follow-up could show up on the streaming service.

* Despite being the worst thing this writer has yet watched, Netflix's A Christmas Prince was a huge success last year, so much so that a sequel is on its way. So, a film based on "Hard Candy Christmas" seems like a logical fit for the holiday season. (Yes, we know the lyrics, and that Parton didn't write them. It's still a Dolly Parton Christmas song to us, damn it.)

* Speaking of romances, "Here You Come Again" seems prime for a romantic comedy script.

* Ditto, "Islands in the Stream," a rom-com ripe for exotic locales.

* Move over, Sweet Home Alabama, because the time is right for "Tennessee Homesick Blues."

* In addition to "9 to 5," what better premise for the #MeToo era than "PMS Blues"? 

* Although Parton says she hopes "her show will inspire and entertain all generations," maybe this is her chance to explore dark, serious Emmy-winning drama territory. Songs like "Me and Little Andy," about an abused child and her dog, who run away from the girl's drunk father only to die, or "Gypsy Joe and Me," about a homeless man whose dog dies before he also dies, could fit the bill.

* Or maybe Parton will focus solely on her Appalachian-themed songs and create a series of films set in the same small town, with overlapping plots and recurring characters, maybe one of them even named Raylan Givens ... 

What do you want to see? Let us know in the comments.