Dolly Parton's Inspirational Movie "Coat of Many Colors" Will Air on NBC, Dec. 10th

By Timothy Yap Aug 19, 2015 12:01 AM EDT

Dolly Parton's autobiographical inspirational movie "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" will air Thursday, Dec. 10 from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT. "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" is based on the inspiring true story of living legend Dolly Parton's remarkable upbringing.

This once-in-a-lifetime movie special takes place inside the tight-knit Parton family as they struggle to overcome devastating tragedy and discover the healing power of love, faith, and a raggedy patchwork coat that helped make Parton who she is today.

The film is set in the Tennessee Great Smokey Mountains in 1955. It is neither a biopic nor musical about Dolly's whole life and performing career, but rather a family-oriented faith-based story about the incidents in her and her family's life around the time she was 9 years old.

Three cast members were recently added to the production, which begins this week in Atlanta.

Jennifer Nettles will play Parton's mother, Avie Lee Parton. Nettles is one of the most popular singer-songwriters in music today. As the lead singer of the duo Sugarland, Nettles has sold more than 22 million albums, achieved eight #1 singles and has won numerous awards, including trophies from the Grammys, AMAs, ACM Awards, CMT Music Awards and CMA Awards. In addition, Nettles debuted her first solo album in 2014 which went to #1 on the country charts.

Adding theater actress to her already impressive resume, Nettles made her Broadway debut in February as Roxy Hart in the Tony Award-winning musical "Chicago."

Gerald McRaney, one of the most respected actors of his generation, will play Grandpa Jake Owens. His career includes roles in several critically acclaimed television dramas - "Deadwood," "Southland" and "House of Cards" - and he currently co-stars on the Western series "Longmire." He will also co-star on the upcoming TNT series "Agent X." McRaney was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast for both "Deadwood" and "House of Cards."

Ricky Schroder will portray Dolly's father, Lee Parton. Schroder has had a lengthy career dating back to when the actor was 9 years old and won a Golden Globe for his role in the heartfelt boxing film "The Champ." He was SAG nominated both individually and as a member of the cast of the Emmy Award-winning police drama "NYPD Blue" and had a co-starring role in the Emmy-winning drama "24."

As previously announced, Alyvia Alyn Lind will portray 9-year-old Dolly Parton. Alyvia most recently had a role in the Lifetime movie spoof "A Deadly Adoption," with Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig. She has also appeared in "Masters of Sex" and "Transparent."

"Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" is written by Pamela K. Long. She executive produces with Sam Haskell and Dolly Parton. The film is a production of Magnolia Hill Entertainment and DP Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.