Fox's 'Monarch' bridges the gap between country music's legacy and evolving traditions

"I'm saying the words they want me to say, but I'm sure not acting too much," jokes 60-year-old country superstar Trace Adkins in a trademark growling baritone.

He's in conversation with the Tennessean while appearing at the Grand Ole Opry for an exclusive premiere of "Monarch," the Fox drama in which he portrays country music patriarch Albie Roman.

The show premieres – a year after multiple delays – Sunday on Fox, immediately following  the network's NFL doubleheader, between 7-8 p.m. CT. Other episodes are scheduled to air starting Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. CT.

The show is the network's first wholly owned drama series. It follows in the footsteps of ABC and CMT's "Nashville," which aired from 2012-2018.

Post-quarantine, country music is re-emerging as a multi-platform American TV broadcast staple. ABC has continued its 18-year relationship with the Country Music Association via the three-hour "CMA Fest" compendium of mainstage performances. Universal and NBC's Peacock streaming platform offers Circle Country Lifestyle and Music Channel by Peacock, featuring country music, Western movies, and TV shows.

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Viacom, via CBS, Paramount+, and more, is committed to country music, too. Historically, since the 1970s, the film careers of iconic artists like Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and Tanya Tucker owe much to their feature presentations on the network.

Moreover, highly touted shows "Yellowstone" and "1883" have allowed Kevin Costner and married country musicians Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, respectively, to achieve re-ascendant stardom.

As for Amazon's emerging streaming content portal, 2023 will find Amazon Music again broadcasting the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Fox isn't stopping at "Monarch," though. The network also has partnered with the ACM to broadcast a special presentation of the recent ACM Honors event at the Ryman Auditorium.

"Monarch" tells the fictional story of the rootsy and rough-hewn Roman family – think the Carters and the Judds meet the Williamses and the Jennings. They include country music's king and queen: Albie and Dottie Cantrell Roman (played with sincere authenticity by Susan Sarandon), whose royal reign is jeopardized. The heirs to the throne, include sisters Nicolette "Nicky" Roman (Anna Friel) and Gigi Roman (played in a breakout role by alt-punk icon Beth Ditto), plus her record industry executive brother Luke (Joshua Sasso). All are vying for control of the throne.

"Albie Roman is an honest guy who gets caught up in some situations where he has to do what he thinks is best for his family first," says Adkins about the character he plays in the starring role. "It may not always be honorable, and it's not driven by meanness, but overall, he's a good guy.

"I love music," says Ditto, seated in a blue and white kimono, sporting a boldly reddish-orange dyed bob hairstyle while speaking with The Tennessean at downtown Nashville's 1 Hotel. Of course, that's not what she's wearing when portraying Gigi, but it does offer a sense of her fanciful nature, which was born of her roots in Searcy, Arkansas. The town of 25,000 is 50 miles northeast of Little Rock and played an intrinsic role in her personal development.

The lead singer of indie rock band Gossip has been compared to Bobbie Gentry, Etta James, Janis Joplin and Tina Turner. She notes that the "trauma" associated with her Southern roots shows most in her portrayal of the working mother who hid a golden voice and magnificent stage presence her entire life.

"Gigi's an un-nurtured outcast and underdog, like me," she adds. "My mother wasn't like Susan Sarandon though. Susan's more like my grandmother, Barbie Ann. She was a red-headed firecracker."

Ditto notes small character points, like the fact that she's a female character who never wears dresses or makeup and is "a working mother who wears an Apple watch because she always has to be somewhere."

"Every character on this show feels really relatable to someone, and I like that," Ditto says.

The performer also reveals that she was "completely jobless" during COVID-19's quarantines and considered taking classes online to pursue opening a day care center. However, when presented with the idea of auditioning for the show – and that they specifically wanted a "plus-sized, fat, lesbian country singer" – she was immediately intrigued. Similar to Adkins, the role would not require a significant dramatic stretch.

Ditto's Arkansas roots included her father boiling squirrels' heads and sucking the brains through the nose and her grandmother killing three squirrels with one bullet. These notes preceded her confidence in her acting ability when pursuing the role.

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"All I said when I auditioned was, 'Find someone better, I dare you.'"

Regarding Ditto's brazen conviction, her TV father, Adkins, says with a laugh, "she's a hoot, man, that girl's crazy."

"I just heard that '90s country' was a 'thing' two weeks ago," Adkins jokes. "I wish somebody would've told me, I lived through it."

The Academy of Country Music award-winning vocalist fondly recalls having acted in nearly two dozen low-budget films in the past two decades and says the experience yielding the role of Albie Roman flatters and honors his acting chops, his years of country music industry experience and his time spent in front of cameras.

"It's a lot of pressure, but from seeing the first six episodes, I feel pretty good about my performance," he adds.

Expanding his acting credits to include amorous scenes with Academy Award-winner Sarandon was "nerve-wracking" for Adkins, mainly because the actress' professional credibility automatically elevates his work.

"All you have to do is stand in her lake and hold on," Adkins said. "When you realize that Susan can carry the scene, you exhale and enjoy the thrill of the moment."

Each of the artists who act in the show recorded in the neighborhood of a dozen or so songs for the broadcasts. Aiding with recording these songs was Swedish-born Nashville resident Alex Anders, long known as the vocal producer and engineer for another renowned Fox program, "Glee," which aired from 2009-2015.

Anders worked alongside his brother, Adam, for "Monarch." In addition, the Belmont University graduate is renowned in country circles as the architect and manager of Ricky Skaggs' Skaggs Place Studios, where he became a two-time Grammy-winning engineer.

The creator is proud of the show's mix of old and new material. Quintessential country classics are mixed with countrified covers of current pop favorites and original songs on the soundtrack. Could you ever imagine hearing Adkins sing Ed Sheeran's 2014 single "Photograph?" Tune into Fox on Tuesday nights this fall.

Guest stars from the world of country music, including Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, and Tanya Tucker, are slated to make appearances. Plus, the show's title theme, "The Card You Gamble," was performed by Caitlyn Smith.

"I'm obsessed with ('Monarch')," says Smith, who performed the show's theme alongside her ballad "High" at the Opry on the night of the exclusive premiere.

"Jumping into a ballad with so much drama, suspense and mystery was such a fun experience. And of course, the Love Junkies (the vaunted songwriting trio of Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose) wrote the song almost as its own character in the show.

"I'm a '90s country girl at heart, so I'm constantly channeling those vibes every chance I get," says the vocalist about her euphoric performance.

Ditto alludes to the broader spread of fan interest in the genre.

"In pop culture, there's an idea of what country music is 'supposed' to be," she says. "But like so many people, all of the country music I've ever loved wouldn't pass for country music right now. So for people like me, 'Monarch' bridges the gap."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Fox's 'Monarch' dramatizes country music's evolving traditions