Dolly Parton’s “Christmas of Many Colors” Movie Wins Ratings Battle
Dolly Parton’s made for TV movies continue to be ratings hogs. Her latest installment, Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love won Wednesday night’s (11-30) ratings for NBC, beating out the vaunted FOX music series Empire by nearly 3 1/2 million viewers, and winning the night overall. Christmas of Many Colors pulled in 11.5 million viewers total, just shy of the number the premier movie of Dolly Parton’s NBC deal Coat of Many Colors did in 2015. Coat of Many Colors became the most-viewed made for TV movie in three years when it first aired.
Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love resulted in FOX’s Empire getting the lowest overnight ratings of the season, though the show still beat out the Dolly movie just slightly in the key advertiser demographic of 18 to 49-year-olds. The numbers may improve for Dolly by as much as 50% as DVR numbers come in over the coming days.
The movie took on special significance after the devastating wildfires in Sevier County, Tennessee burned much of the area where Dolly Parton grew up, and where Christmas of Many Colors was based. Parton’s Dollywood was mostly spared, but portions of nearby Gatlinburg were devastated in the fires. Parton has since announced her foundation will be giving $1,000 a month to affected families to help them get back on their feet.
Christmas of Many Colors is now available for HD Digital streaming, and will be released on DVD December 20th. The continued success of Dolly Parton’s movies proves there is still a place for family-oriented entertainment on television, and that Dolly Parton continues to be a universally-revered personality.
December 2, 2016 @ 11:25 am
It seems that everything Dolly touches turns to gold, and she deserves it. She’s a national treasure, in my opinion.
December 3, 2016 @ 4:52 pm
If Dolly’s name is attached to it, I have to watch it. I had to record & will now be watching it. Who doesn’t love Dolly & she stay out of politics which I appreciate.
December 2, 2016 @ 12:19 pm
While the movie was a decent effort, it lacked some of the charm and focus of the first movie. Instead of focusing on a “Plot A” and “Plot B”, it tried to tell six different stories between the Christmas pageant, the coal mining, the ring buying, the winter snowstorm, the painted lady, and the musician uncle. Why did they feel the need to cram so much into one movie when they obviously want to make more of them?
In addition, it seemed as though they went out of their way to make young Dolly unlikable. While you sympathized with her in the first movie, the second movie shows Dolly pushing an innocent girl out of her role in the Christmas pageant, forcing her best friend to take a role she didn’t want in the Christmas pageant, and berating a store owner over the price of wedding rings. Despite all of this, every character fawns over Dolly like she’s the only child in the entire Parton family. Jennifer Nettles and Ricky Schroder did deliver great performances as Dolly’s mom and dad, but it would have been nice to see more development from Dolly’s siblings. Let’s hope that they will regain focus with a third movie and will look to the first movie for more of their direction.
December 2, 2016 @ 4:41 pm
My mom asked me after she had watched the movie if Dolly’s siblings resented all the attention she got when they were little. My response was I don’t know but a couple of them got recording contracts pretty much entirely based on her name and success so there is that.
But I agree with your point that this movie felt like too much of an attempt to recreate the charms of the first movie instead of making something that would stand on it’s own.
December 2, 2016 @ 12:44 pm
Dolly is a national treasure
December 2, 2016 @ 1:20 pm
I watched this Hulu last night. I thought it excelent and quite charming.
December 2, 2016 @ 4:12 pm
Dolly finally got her TV success. In her autobiography she talked about how some of her earlier efforts had failed and how, in spite of this, she still had faith in her dream of being able to do something really really great one day that had to do with TV (not a direct quote by far but you get me.). Now it has happened, and it holds the greatest significance, too. I am sure none of us could be any prouder =)
December 2, 2016 @ 6:03 pm
Dolly has worked her butt off to become the icon she is today plus she is one of the most generous people in this country. Her family has worked in the same field as she but Dolly had and still has the drive to do more and that is her secret to success. She has Made it on her own ! ! ! GOOD JOB DOLLY, YOU ARE #1 AND WILL ALWAYS BE !
January 25, 2017 @ 7:41 am
I was watching Dolly’s Coat of Many Colors today, and I noticed that Avie Lee was wearing a wedding ring in this movie. In the movie Christmas of Many Colors she was asking for a wedding ring, a ring she never had. Why? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting the movies down, cause I loved them. This was just an observation. Keep the movies coming Dolly. These two movies are the best I’ve seen in a long time.