“George & Tammy” Debut Episode Lives Up To Expectations
The real life stories of certain country music artists are sometimes even more intriguing and dramatic than the dramatized stories they tell in song. This was certainly the case for George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and their tumultuous marriage and working relationship. Those aware of their country music history have known just how gripping that story could be in movie or serialized form for half a century, if given the right opportunity, the right budget, and a cast that could pull it off.
There has been no shortage of plans and rumors for biopics and dramatic interpretations of country legends over the years. There have been a couple in the works just about George Jones alone. But getting them from the page to the screen has been a feat and a half. And even when they make it there, it often results in a letdown. Just see the reviews for the Hank Williams flick back in 2015 starring Tom Hiddleston.
But luckily for country music fans, that is not the case with George & Tammy. The limited series debuted its first episode on Sunday night, December 4th after Yellowstone, and proved what is possible when you have passion for the subject matter like writer and creator Abe Sylvia does, who took the book of Georgette Jones about her parents and first tried to fit it into movie form before smartly determining there was way more there beyond a 120-minute runtime.
Some will bellyache that Michael Shannon, who plays George Jones, and Jessica Chastain who plays Tammy Wynette, sound nothing like their historical counterparts, and may not look exactly the same either. Well get over it. The creators chose to have the two actors sing their actual parts instead of lip syncing to classic recordings. Of course nobody can sing like George and Tammy. They’re two of the best singers in country music history. But it takes guts to sing your own parts, and it results in more believable moments than playing make believe they can reach the same heights as George and Tammy as vocalists.
*Spoiler Alert*
The debut episode of the six-part series opens with George Jones flushing $100 bills down a Grand Ole Opry toilet—in 1960s money mind you—as his entourage hunts down a metal grinder to cut the lock off the bathroom stall while Roy Acuff croons out the “Wabash Cannonball” to the front of the house. It’s pretty amazing how many of the notorious stories of George Jones make it into the premier episode alone, culminating in George flipping of Tammy Wynette’s dinner table after he gets made at her soon-to-be ex-husband, the meek and hapless Don Chapel.
*END Spoiler Alert*
Of course these are dramatic interpretations of real life events, but the exquisite acting of Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain make everything feel as real as rain. Great setting and costuming also sets you right in the late 60s when the partnership was forged. About the only thing that feels phony is the overly boisterous applause from the live audiences throughout performances. This wasn’t Beatlemania. Country crowds politely listened, and applauded at the end. Tim Blake Nelson isn’t particularly believable as Roy Acuff either.
But the way George & Tammy tells the story through the couple’s songs made this debut episode especially meaningful to country fans. Tammy’s recording of “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” set the backdrop to the 2nd half of the episode, and George’s recording of Don Chapel’s “When The Grass Grows Over Me” is also an important theme. The way Michael Shannon portrays George Jones assessing “When The Grass Grows Over Me” and saying, “That’s morbid. But it’s true,” is a masterpiece of understanding George’s mannerisms and state-of-mind.
Though Chastain will have her opportunities for more unhinged and emotional moments later in the series, Shannon’s portrayal of Jones as a man constantly teetering on the brink of madness, but able to pull it together at the last minute before falling over the edge accurately captures what made Jones such a malevolent and magnanimous character in country history. You never knew when he was going to erupt, and that kept everyone around him on edge, and made George appealing to certain women. He was larger than life, and wild.
The supporting cast also deserves great credit. Walter Goggins portraying Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery, and the others from the George Jones/Tammy Wynette orbit show the depth of the story and characters. The creators even pulled from actual throwback country artists from today to help fill out the cast, including Zachariah Malachi, who plays George’s fiddle player Charlie Justice, and Logan Ledger—who many compare to the singing of George Jones—portraying Jones Boys founding member Georgie Riddle.
The debut episode of a limited series presents a challenge. You have to introduce all the main characters, set the table for a story you can’t assume the audience knows already, and put it all into an entertaining package within an hour. Episode 1 “The Race Is On” wasn’t perfect, but the critical consensus of this series being very well-acted, well-directed, and more or less accurate to the real story is the correct one.
We finally have a series portraying country legends that’s worth the extra effort to seek out on the streaming menu, or setting an appointment to see it broadcast in real time on Showtime. It’s called George & Tammy.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8.5/10)
December 5, 2022 @ 1:22 pm
I think Earl Montgomery is played by Walton Goggins who was terrific as Boyd Crowder in the Justified series. Parts of “George and Tammy,” like the bus rollover were surprising to me. I was not a fan in the of either of the two back in the day. The sets were spot on accurate for the 1960s, though.
December 5, 2022 @ 1:25 pm
The first episode can be viewed in full for free at:
https://youtu.be/V_V1dem3FzY
December 5, 2022 @ 1:50 pm
Thanks.
December 5, 2022 @ 1:29 pm
Historically two things I noticed that were in error were, they mentioned George preforming on “Hee Haw” 11 times. Well, in 1968 “Hee Haw” had not even debuted, and I would say it would have been years by the time George had made 11 appearances (if he made that many at all!). Secondly the opening Opry scene with Tim Blake Nelson portraying Roy Acuff wearing an Ernest Tubb type of hat. Of course, Acuff never wore a hat at all.
Those are just little things I noticed that the general public never would have. But all in all, it was a great show and I look forward to more.
December 5, 2022 @ 1:48 pm
I can somewhat forgive them for the anachronistic Hee-Haw reference since they were trying to introduce the character of George Richey in the debut episode, who apparently plays one of the bigger roles throughout the series. But man, they got Roy Acuff all wrong. Like you say, he never wore a hat on stage, and Tim Blake Nelson just bears no resemblance. You don’t have to look exactly like Roy Acuff, but at least get the wardrobe right. I actually thought at first it was supposed to be Ernest Tubb singing a Roy Acuff song until I saw the cast rundown. But you’re going to have these kinds of things in a series like this that folks who know these stories front and back are going to pick out immediately. The hope is that a quality series like this stimulates interest in the music of George Jones and Tammy Wynette in the general population, and I think it very well could.
December 5, 2022 @ 4:15 pm
The incorrect ‘period cues’ drove me nuts. For example, Tammy first met George during his Marine buzz-cut era (worn thru the mid-1960s). It was only after they’d become a couple that he began to let his hair grow out a bit (the movie dialogue even made a veiled reference to this, in the scene where Tammy was working on George’s ‘do). Also, some of the supporting cast including those portraying band members wore outfits more 1972 than 1968. It’s the little things, y’all!
December 6, 2022 @ 8:01 am
Good lookin’ out !!
December 6, 2022 @ 7:39 pm
Anachronistic things bug me too, but overall I really enjoyed it. Tim Blake Nelson, though. Nah. He was sticking out wrong like a sore thumb.
December 5, 2022 @ 2:01 pm
Wow, serious character actors for both leads. I didn’t realize that. Didn’t want to sign up to another streaming service, but now I might.
December 5, 2022 @ 5:39 pm
Honestly went in with low expectations, mainly after listening to season 2 of Cocaine & Rhinestones that did a deep dive in all things Jones and Tammy, but the show exceeded my expectations.
December 7, 2022 @ 9:43 am
Seemed like the show exceeded Tyler’s expectations too somewhat–he was pretty critical of the singing, and he disliked some of the anachronisms, but on Twitter it seemed like he went into the show looking to be critical and came out with more of a shrug toward it.
With the way Coe can be hyper-critical when he wants to, that’s a win for the show, and reason enough for me to check it out.
December 7, 2022 @ 10:26 am
This thing is receiving almost universal acclaim from critics. I completely understand some country fans who are familiar with the story being put off by the manipulations in the timeline. But this is a dramatic interpretation of their lives, not a documentary.
December 5, 2022 @ 6:07 pm
I thought it was excellent and I’m very excited for the next episodes.
I love that Shannon and Chastain are doing their own vocals and some of the creative liberates being taken to the story, because we’ve heard Jones and Wynette sings these songs and heard most these stories ad nauseam. It will keep it interesting for us.
December 5, 2022 @ 7:57 pm
Being pretty familiar with the Jones story I really wanted to love T.M.Coe’s podcast series. However he lost focus during the 2nd half. Wasted time with too much of a deep dive into Tammy’s demons (to such a degree that it drifted well outside of the scope of the main GJ focus), and at the expense of the poorly told Nancy Jones years.
December 5, 2022 @ 8:02 pm
(Sorry, I’d meant to reply to 63Guild’s
comment above.)
December 6, 2022 @ 8:03 am
I’ma have to watch all of it. Started getting slow for bored so changed it. Reading comments gonna have to watch again.
December 5, 2022 @ 6:25 pm
They packed a lot of true stories into a smaller space of time and not in chronological order. I get that’s how movies work, and they did a really great job. They got the essence of George, Tammy, and Nashville/Country Music of the era correct, and that’s what is important. The only thing that really bothered me was the singing. I really wish they had brought in great singers and had the actors lip-sync. It would have added to the power and emotion of the story. The actors did good for actors, but the singing didn’t hold up to the great musicianship or George and Tammy’s legacy.
December 5, 2022 @ 8:33 pm
But you still have the issue of trying to find anyone who can sing as well as George Jones and Tammy Wynette—two of the greatest singers in the history of country music. I’ll even spot you one: Logan Ledger, who’s on this show’s cast, and is about the only living soul that can sing as good as Jones, and in a similar style. But I’m drawing a blank on someone who could sing for Tammy.
December 6, 2022 @ 7:43 am
Have you ever given Jason James a listen? Dude is a dead ringer for George Jones, maybe even more so than Ledger.
December 6, 2022 @ 9:36 am
I’ve reviewed both of his albums. I agree, he could sing the George Jones parts as well, and all the people complaining about Michael Shannon’s singing would be replaced by people complaining that the actors are lip-syncing. There are only wrong answers on how to handle the singing in a movie like this.
December 5, 2022 @ 8:27 pm
People don’t have to “get over” actors and their shitty singing. Maybe you prefer subpar vocals, and that’s okay, but it does nothing to make things “more believable.” A show about George and Tammy should have George’s and Tammy’s vocals. If people want to hear bad singing, they can turn on a mainstream country station (or listen to some of the shit you fawn over here).
December 5, 2022 @ 8:37 pm
Arguing over how to handle singing parts for famous performers in a biopic is like asking someone who their favorite Beatle is. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone else’s opinion is wrong. You pipe in the original recording and have the actors lip sync, people will complain. You record new parts with new singers and have the actors lip sync, and people will call them Milli Vanilli. Or you do it like this series is doing, and people complain they don’t sing like George and Tammy. You can’t win. But I say that if the actors can sing—which is not a given—then just let them sing. It might be the best of three bad options.
December 5, 2022 @ 8:54 pm
You are absolutely right. I remember when Sweet Dreams came out and people complained that Jessica Lange lip-synced to Patsy Cline’s recordings instead of doing her own vocals.
December 5, 2022 @ 9:25 pm
I wouldn’t say the actors can sing. I think they got by with studio trickery. It certainly didn’t seem effortless, and they missed all the nuances. Hired singers would have to sound exactly like George and Tammy, but they would at least be of the same quality as the musicianship on the recordings and be more believable. Jim Lauderdale did an awesome George Jones in the Tammy Wynette play that ran at the Ryman many years ago. He’s a better singer than Logan Ledger. Billy Yates might have worked. For girls, that is a tough call. Carrie Underwood could have probably killed it. She’s a great singer and could have studied Tammy to pull it off. Music is half the battle with video. Take away the sound, and you’ve got nothing. It just broke the mood for me. I still love the show, though.
December 6, 2022 @ 10:17 am
Carrie Underwood would kill it in another way. She can sing but she bellows on EVERYTHING.
December 6, 2022 @ 1:38 pm
I thought I was the only person who feels this way about Carrie Underwood’s singing. I feel like she is yelling when she sings. She has a good voice but her constant over the top singing of every line is old.
December 6, 2022 @ 2:59 pm
Carrie could sing it, and probably even would cut out the belting to play Tammy. But the big problem is she can’t act which to me should be the top requirement for a show like this. The show would be a disaster apart from the songs.
I’d rather have good acting and okay singing to tell the story. I’m surprised they didn’t blend the actors’ vocals with the real ones to make it match closer. They’ve done it in the past.
December 5, 2022 @ 10:42 pm
Isn’t it the jobs of Chastain and Shannon to convey the emotions of the songs as actors, not immitate a vocal performances?
I thought that was very well spelled out in the scene when Chastain was singing Apartment #9 and she stopped to give the band the loneliness pep talk. They were sounding great, but weren’t conveying the emotion. Overdub those vocals and we lose the emotional performance.
December 9, 2022 @ 4:15 am
Casting performers who can act well and sing *honestly* is always the best option. Let your performers perform and they will lead people back to the original sounds. You get an emotionally vital performance and a new audience for the wellspring. Best of both worlds. Very impressed by Chastain and Shannon’s work.
December 5, 2022 @ 10:32 pm
I like Shannon and Chastain as George and Tammy. It was originally going to be Josh Brolin as George Jones which would’ve been interesting. Tim Mcintyre had the voice pretty close but he didn’t capture George’s personality nowhere near as well as Michael Shannon. So far I’d have to give Annette O’Toole the slight edge over Jessica Chastain though. I’m interested to see who they cast as Johnny Paycheck, Gary Adams, Don Adams, and Arnie Adams.
December 6, 2022 @ 8:06 am
Yeah George and Tammy voices should be used. I agree.
December 6, 2022 @ 9:08 am
I’m totally fine with them singing their own parts, even if theyre nowhere near as good as the people theyre portraying. First time I watched Sweet Dreams, the Patsy Cline movie, I was totally turned off by the lip synching from Jessica Lange. But I love Patsy (AND Jessica Lange and Ed Harris) so much, I watch that film at least once a year. I really really enjoyed this first episode of George & Tammy. Unfortunately I dont subscribe to the services that stream it, so Im afraid Ill have to wait til the whole show ends to see the rest of it on a streaming service I DO have.
Long Live Country Music
December 6, 2022 @ 12:53 pm
If you have already have Paramount+ (to watch 1889 and 1923), you can get the Showtime add one through the Paramount+ app for $3.99 a month for 6 months
December 6, 2022 @ 11:24 am
Just surprised that they didn’t colorswap George and Tammy. It is the new trend nowadays.
December 20, 2022 @ 8:56 am
Do you have a list of biopics that have colorswapped the protagonists in recent years?
December 21, 2022 @ 7:19 pm
Come on man. Can you not?
December 6, 2022 @ 3:01 pm
Like most other country music biopics it was mostly horrible. Allowing the actors to sing was mistake #1.
Jessica Chastain missed Tammy’s phrasing by a mile. Did she ever listen to any of Tammy’s recordings? Paused in the wrong places. Inflected on the wrong words. With make-up and period hair styles she bore a reasonable resemblance to Tammy. Jessica also emulated Tammy’s very soft speaking voice quite well.
Michael Shannon was not even close to resembling George. Most notably George was a relatively short guy [5’7″] while Shannon is a towering 6’3″.[Chastain is only 2 inches taller than Tammy so her stature was a closer match] First time I met George back in the 1970’s I was very surprised at how short and thin he was. Of course nobody can sing like George but Shannon is not even in the ballpark.
Sadly George was a poor excuse for a human being. He only cared about himself and satisfying his own needs and desires. He was a slave to his addictions. Fame and success made him worse. His only saving grace was that he was blessed with the most expressive and arguably best voice in the history of country music. But from watching the first hour of this series you only see a man obsessed with booze who cheats on his wife with multiple women (at the same time) but with a WEAK VOICE that no record label in that era would have remotely considered. They should have found an actor that could mimic George’s voice or just lip-synched to George’s recordings. George’s talent was his VOICE – period. His heart and soul were evident in his songs. How can you make an honest film about him with a wimpy-voiced impersonator?
After watching the first episode I immediately wanted to get out my George & Tammy CD’s so I could cleanse my eardrums.
That George & Tammy’s daughter Georgette is involved in this debacle and allowed this to happen is the worst part. She obviously just wanted a big payday and did not care how her parents story and music would be portrayed.
Like most country biopics the film played fast & loose with the actual facts and timeline. Here’s a summary of some of the major first episode gaffs:
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/12/george-and-tammy-truth-fiction-1234787638/
And who cast the guy that was supposed to be Roy Acuff? Another voice that completely missed the mark. If he wasn’t singing Wabash Cannon Ball I would’ve had no idea who he was supposed to be. Roy wore business suits with no hat on the Opry by the late 60’s. Was anybody on this film even familiar with Roy Acuff? George was a huge Roy Acuff fan. He surely would not have been happy with this lame portrayal of his musical hero.
And country fans in the 60’s did not stand in the aisles at the Ryman or rush the stage. They sat in their seats and politely listened and applauded.
Very disappointing. George & Tammy deserved so much better. I’ll pass on subsequent episodes.
Show Rating: F-
January 10, 2023 @ 9:06 am
Any reader seeing this now should know that this comment is wildly off the mark. The show was excellent and the singing was very good for being two actors. You shouldn’t expect to hear the same music you can on a record in a TV show.
January 10, 2023 @ 9:32 am
For those completely unfamiliar with George & Tammy, their music and their story I suppose that you could find it somewhat entertaining.
But for those of us that are familiar with these two legends it was way off the mark.
Their careers were based upon their music. The music in this show was dreadful and not an accurate or acceptable representation of their immense talent.
December 6, 2022 @ 6:37 pm
Well, I found it ” entertaining” , kinda. But gotta agree with several folks here that it’s combining way too many incidents into a single moment in time, and ends up as a work of fiction.
For reference, I just talked to Don Adams today about it. Don was there in Jones band off and on throughout the 60s and later in the 70s. Don said the shooting up the bus incident did happen in 1962 but that was long before George ever met or knew Tammy. He basically said watching it was disappointing, and didn’t represent reality.
Agree with Country Fan, it’s so far off the mark, it’s gonna be a pass for me as well.
December 6, 2022 @ 7:32 pm
I can do a decent George Jones.
December 7, 2022 @ 6:17 am
Trigger, have you seen the new Stallone show Tulsa King? Killer soundtrack so far, first episode opens with Marcus King. Have heard Charlie Crockett, steel woods, Stapleton, Midland, Natural child all in the first 4 episodes. I was surprised by the show, I’m not a big Stallone guy but this has been good.
December 7, 2022 @ 10:04 am
I’ve seen promotions for it, but haven’t looked into it yet. I’ll check it out.
December 7, 2022 @ 6:53 pm
I’m about 10 minutes in and may not finish it. @CountryFan hit all the points of what is wrong with it and he’s 100% correct.
I am not understanding at who this is for. Fans of Jones’ should skip it and watch Same ol’ Me. Leave this schlock to the cat ladies it was made for. This isn’t quite Elvis bad. More like Walk The Line/Great Balls of Fire shitty. Enough to make the country fanatic want to tear their hair out while yelling at the screen.
December 8, 2022 @ 10:50 am
I thought this was a good….but short episode of the new series George & Tammy. In my opinion why not do the first episode longer than the others. An hour and a half or even two hours.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed the character of Roy Acuff wearing a hat. I’d seen Mr Acuff perform many times and never did he wear a hat. As soon as I seen it I said to myself….that’s completely wrong….Acuff never wore a hat. The thing that really made me laugh was seeing the afro like wig Geroge Richey wore. The way he acted in this first episode even if it was a short part for that character he already seemed like a scheming piece of scum. I have no respect for anyone that’s married to someone….knows they have a drug issue and doesn’t get them help. You don’t keep feeding them the drugs…..you help them….HELLO?!?!?!?!?
December 8, 2022 @ 1:44 pm
Little details matter. Aside from the singing , casting comments what really irks me is seeing the so called band with there fingers on the neck of a guitar and not changing positions.ie: the gray haired fell with the long beard.
December 9, 2022 @ 9:37 pm
The only thing I found a little odd was Roy Acuff wearing a hat. I looked at about 200 images of him and found one with a hat. It was his pattern to perform hatless.
December 11, 2022 @ 12:24 am
Well it’s on showtime so I won’t see it anyway.
December 17, 2022 @ 3:19 pm
Dayam there’s some harsh assessments and comments here. I grew up with all of this and find it to be quite the show. Of course it’s not perfect, but neither am I. I would suppose this to be true for many commenting here, even though they may not like to admit ownership of that. Take a breath and lighten up all. Enjoy our history, even if some of it is harsh.
December 27, 2022 @ 2:29 pm
I think Sammy Kershaw would have been a great fill in for the signing parts for George Jones in this series. Kershaw sounds a lot like Jones and I think could have pulled it off, even with his older voice.
January 3, 2023 @ 5:47 am
Even though he looks like Vince McMahon.