'George & Tammy' TV series gives fans a fresh look at Tammy Wynette's life, career

Dec. 3—TUPELO — The upcoming Showtime series "George and Tammy" offers fans a fresh look at Tammy Wynette's life, career and marriage to fellow country music legend George Jones ... one that the couple's daughter says truly captures who they were as people, not just celebrities.

Starring Jessica Chastain as Tammy Wynette and Michael Shannon as George Jones, the show is based on the book "The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George" by Georgette Jones, the only daughter of the President and First Lady of Country Music.

Jones, 52, had never imagined writing a book prior to picking up one someone else had written about her mother — a product of Tremont, Mississippi, and Red Bay, Alabama — who became the first female country artist to cut an album that sold a million copies.

"I think I probably only got to about page 90," Jones said. "I was just so upset by some of the things that the writer had written. I just didn't feel like it was an accurate portrayal of my mom at all. It wasn't the mother that I knew."

In 2011, realizing people believed accounts that were untrue or focused solely on their flaws, Jones sought to set the record straight through her own accounts.

"I thought it might be a good idea to write it from my perspective so people can know them the way I knew them," Jones said. "Not necessarily just as artists, but as people."

On Sunday night, after nearly a decade in the works, the six-episode TV series based on the book will premiere on Showtime.

When she was first contacted about the possibility of adapting her autobiography into a limited series, Jones felt a mix of emotions. She was excited, yet skeptical — concerned that her parents' story may be sensationalized as it had been in the past.

But the "George & Tammy" crew earned Jones' trust, and she's pleased with the result. Jones previewed all six episodes before attending early screenings in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York City.

"It's hard for me to be completely objective, so I relied a lot on my husband's opinion," Jones said. "Unfortunately, my mom passed before I met him, and he only got to know my dad for a very short period of time before he passed."

When Jones' husband thought the show was fantastic, she knew the right people had adapted her parents' story.

"I really did think they did a great job pulling it all together," she said.

Jones is credited as a consulting producer on the series and even stopped by the set to see a few days of filming during production, which she described as surreal.

"The hair and makeup and wardrobe and place, everything set up the way that it was," Jones said. "It kind of felt like we were stepping into an alternate universe."

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Jones praised both Chastain's and Shannon's performances, especially their decision to do their own vocals while singing her parents' songs.

"The most important thing is that emotional connection," Jones said. "If you are lip syncing to something, you don't really have that performance (element.)"

Jones, who lived in Red Bay for a time, said she's happy that people will finally see her parents' story the way she remembers it.

"People in the past looked at mom like she's tragic and sick all the time. They look at my dad like all he did was drink alcohol and wreak havoc," Jones said. "And that was not the core of who they were. So, I'm hoping this series will show people that they were also very fun-loving and happy-go-lucky people that loved their family and unfortunately had demons to deal with."

Where to watch

"George & Tammy" will premiere at 8 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, Dec. 4, on both Showtime and the Paramount Network. The remaining episodes will air exclusively on Showtime.

blake.alsup@djournal.com