FOXThe dark side of country music is coming out. FOX’s new drama Monarch follows the first family of country music in an epic tale of lies and betrayal. The matriarch and patriarch of this family, the Romans, are Dottie (played by Susan Sarandon) and Albie (portrayed by country music star Trace Adkins). Together, the duo have created a dynasty, but now it’s on shaky ground. Their daughter, Nicky (Anna Friel), is ready to do everything she can to protect her family’s musical reign as well as navigate her own growing career.
“Everybody has secrets. Everybody has agendas,” explained Adkins. Having been in the industry for 25 years — his anniversary album came out earlier this year — Adkins has had a front-row seat to country music. His character is described as the “Texas truth-teller,” but even that appears to be a lie. “He has as many secrets as anybody does, but that’s just been the moniker that he’s portrayed himself as, this old-school OG truth-teller in his music. And so, that’s just been kind of the handle that he’s gone by, but don’t take it literally.”
So how close does the show actually echo the country music world? Well, according to Adkins, it’s closer than you’d think. “They have people that are consulting on this show that have pretty good insight about how things work and just what the underbelly actually looks like. So it’s kind of startling sometimes how close they actually get.”
Monarch > Premieres Sunday, Jan. 30; airs Tuesdays beginning Feb. 1 on FOX
