As ‘Monarch’ Finally Hits Fox, Michael Thorn Croons About Fall Season, Future Of ‘Icon’ & Comedy Hopes

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic When Fox’s “Monarch” premiered to strong ratings following an NFL game on Sept. 11, there was a big sort-of-maybe cliffhanger: Can the Susan Sarandon character, touted as a series lead, really be as dead as she appeared to be at the end of the pilot? But there were other questions, too. Like: Will this be a series in which the characters are portrayed as having originated a lot of the big hits of country and pop, from “Family Tradition” to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” to “Born This Way”? Will the middle American audience be completely down with a story that has an out lesbian character vying to become a country superstar? Do parallels with Naomi Judd’s story feel as eerie as we think they do? And did the pilot make all those millions of viewers want to come back when there’s no NFL lead-in?

EXCLUSIVE: Anyone who tuned into the first two episodes of Monarch, Fox’s primetime soap that stars Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins as the king and queen of country music, saw uncomfortable parallels to the real-life death of Naomi Judd. Besides depicting how Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon) orchestrates her own suicide in the premiere, the drama’s second episode on Sept. 20 featured a funeral that was meticulously organized by Dottie before her death — just like what Judd did before committing suicide on April 30.

Susan Sarandon, Thelma just might have survived.Indeed, the Oscar-winning actress — who played Louise to Geena Davis’ Thelma in the 1991 road-trip classic “Thelma & Louise” — came up with some last-minute changes to the script that sealed the deadly fates of both characters. Until Sarandon intervened with director Ridley Scott, only Louise was set to die in the end.“[Scott] said, ‘Well, you definitely will die, but I’m not sure about the other character.

Martina McBride became a household name as a country singing sensation nearly three decades ago, and she recently received a host of new fans while starring on the new FOX drama "Monarch." "I’m so excited," McBride exclusively told Fox News Digital. "I mean, I read the script, and I was like, ‘This is juicy, it’s big, it’s exciting.’ I was really thrilled to be asked to be a part of it." McBride was shocked to even be included in the roster when it came to casting country all-stars to appear on the epic series, which stars Trace Adkins, Anna Friel, Beth Ditto and Academy Award-winner Susan Sarandon.

Anna Friel is captivating audiences in her new role as Nicolette 'Nicky' Roman in Fox's new drama series Monarch.RELATED: Inside country music singers' jaw-dropping homes: Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert + moreThe show stars Susan Sarandon (Dottie Cantrell Roman) and Trace Adkins (Albie Roman) as the King and Queen of country music whose reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, leaving their heir to the crown Nicolette to protect her family’s legacy, while ensuring her own quest for stardom.WATCH: Monarch will be your new TV obsession - see the official trailerWhile there's no hiding her private life on-screen, Anna prefers to keep her personal life out of the spotlight, but here's what we know about her love life…Most recently, Anna dated Regimental Corporal Major Mark Jaworski, who previously served alongside Princes William and Harry. However, Anna endured heartbreak in 2020 as the two decided to part ways at the beginning of lockdown. She told The Times: "Going through heartbreak during lockdown hasn't been easy.

There’s a bizarre new story about Ezra Miller and Susan Sarandon that was included as part of a new exposé published by Vanity Fair.

Bill Maher thinks Joe Biden is currently doing a good job. But he also warned against fan fiction as history, perhaps offering a contradiction that only he understands.

Eric McCormack and helped raise more than $725,000 for education in Haiti at the annual Artists for Peace and Justice Festival Gala held in Toronto on September 11 during TIFF.  MORE: All the highlights from HELLO! Canada and Toronto Life's Hollywood North party during TIFF 2022The Will & Grace star was given the annual Artist for Peace and Justice Award to recognize how much he's given back over the years, which was presented to him by Murdoch Mysteries actor Yannick Bisson and Zoomer Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Suzanne Boyd. Environmentalist Dax Dasilva was also honoured with the Canadian Changemaker Award.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox’s Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins-led country music drama “Monarch” didn’t the highest of Nielsen notes Sunday night, but it did manage to keep enough of its NFL lead-in audience to land the network’s most-watched fall scripted premiere in three years. Immediately following an NFL doubleheader, “Monarch” debuted at 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT to a 0.8 rating among adults in the 18-49 age demographic and 3.8 million total viewers, according to initial Nielsen data. Due to the nature of live sports, these results will likely adjust (likely down) when finalized numbers come in later Monday.

Empire had its final curtain call in 2020, but has also wanted to see something that explores the country music industry in the same vein, Fox’s new series Monarch might be what you have been looking for. Even if this style of twangy, Southern-fried music is not your preference, creator Melissa London Hilfers' drama chronicling the dysfunctional (and sometimes deadly) dynamic of the “First Family in County Music” boasts a stellar ensemble that might be enough to pique your interest in checking out its Sunday, September 11, premiere alone.

Be it through love, heartache, passion, sorrow or pure lust for life, music has always fulfilled a common purpose: bringing people together. Country music is known for evoking a wide range of complicated emotions, and viewers of the upcoming "Monarch" FOX television show are in for a wild ride with equally energetic acoustics from Trace Adkins as he stands at the helm of the Roman family.  Fox News Digital exclusively spoke with several of the featured musicians on the soulful TV series, starring Susan Sarandon, Anna Friel and Beth Ditto, which highlights the lives of a dynasty of country musicians and the excitement that ensues as a family needs a little help remembering their roots.

Fox heads to the heart of Texas on Sunday night, blending country music with family squabbles and raw ambition in its new primetime drama “Monarch.”Debuting the first of its two-episode premiere right after the Fox NFL doubleheader, “Monarch” follows the Roman family members as they strive to maintain their first family of country music status, established by matriarch Dottie Cantrell Roman (Susan Sarandon) and Albie Roman (Trace Adkins). “So the original inspiration was I thought, ‘What if I reimagined the Romanov dynasty as a family of country stars in Austin, Texas?’” executive producer and creator Melissa London Hilfers told TheWrap of the show’s inspiration. “And I wanted it to be a big, opulent, multi-generational drama.”The show focuses on all of the Romans and their associates, but opens not only with Sarandon’s Dottie and Adkins’ Albie hosting a press conference, but with a focus on eldest daughter, Nicky Roman (“Pushing Daisies” alum Anna Friel).

British actress Anna Friel is entering the quintessentially American world of country music in her new Fox show “Monarch.”“I think having a background in Irish folk music helped a lot,” Friel, 46, told The Post. “I’m from quite a musical family.

thing for a woman to have, but in the cult classic film The Witches of Eastwick, award-winning actress Susan Sarandon dares to do it anyway—gossip be damned.Loosely based on John Updike’s novel of the same name, the 1987 film adaptation starring , Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jack Nicholson is basically Practical Magic, but kinky and subversive. Bored of their personal and professional lives, three single women—Jane, Alex, and Sukie respectively—accidentally summon their ideal man: a devilishly handsome stranger named Daryl.

EXCLUSIVE: Raoul Trujillo (Mayans M.C.) has signed with Innovative Artists for representation in all areas.

Country singer Trace Adkins opened up about starring on the upcoming country music drama television show "Monarch," which revolves around a dynasty of singers. Trace Adkins' new show, "Monarch," premieres Sept. 11.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic The prospect of Susan Sarandon leading an “Empire”-style music drama set in the world of country music is an instantly alluring one. Not merely is Sarandon a compelling screen presence (one who FX’s “Feud” proved works well on TV), but the particular contours of her public image as a stalwart leftist activist would seem to rub up intriguingly against her character, a survivor in the culturally conservative world of Nashville. Bad luck for viewers, then, that Sarandon, largely at a remove from the story for plot reasons, is such a minimally used part of Fox’s new drama “Monarch,” and that the elements that supersede her hold such little interest. Dottie Cantrell Roman and Albie Roman, played by Sarandon and Trace Adkins, are the parents to three children, two of them rival vocalists (Anna Friel and Beth Ditto); Dottie and Albie’s son (Joshua Sasse) must try to hold the clan together despite his sisters’ egos and need for validation.

Over the course of three months, Cindy Snow went from a hot prospect to a shoo-in for series pickup that was announced at Fox’s upfront presentation to a show returned to its producers to shop elsewhere.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The Fall TV season is upon us and Fox is kicking things off with the returns of “9-1-1,” “The Resident” “The Cleaning Lady” and its iconic Sunday animation block, as well as the debut of Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins country music drama “Monarch” and an eye toward more fresh scripted content to come. Though Fox won’t be the home of the “Ally McBeal” reboot or the “Married… With Children” animated series, both in-the-works projects based on titles that originated at Fox, and is still remaining tight-lipped on more seasons of the Disney-owned “The Simpsons,” Variety found plenty to discuss with Fox Entertainment president of entertainment Michael Thorn pegged to the broadcaster’s day of panels at the virtual Television Critics Association press tour Wednesday.

Susan Sarandon admits that that she knew nothing about country music before beginning work on Monarch, Fox’s upcoming sudser that the producers describe as “Empire meets Succession.”