Trace Adkins’ New Country-Themed Drama ‘Monarch’ Sets September Premiere
Trace Adkins' long-awaited new country music-themed television drama has finally set a premiere date. Monarch, which stars Adkins and screen legend Susan Sarandon, will premiere on Fox on Sunday, Sept. 11, the network revealed on Monday (June 6).
The news came as Fox announced its complete fall schedule for 2022, finally slotting in a place for Monarch, which was previously pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and production delays. Variety reports that Monarch will premiere directly after an NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings before shifting to Tuesday nights beginning Sept. 20. The show will subsequently air at 9PM on Tuesdays in the slot following the medical drama The Resident.
Monarch was originally announced in September of 2021 and initially scheduled to premiere in January of 2022. The drama follows the story of husband-and-wife country singers Albie Roman (Adkins) and Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon). A trailer for the show teases the family's twists dramatic ups and downs as the "First Family of Country Music," including how their daughter, Nicolette “Nicky” Roman (Anna Friel), hopes to carry on their legacy. Singer-songwriter Beth Ditto also stars as Gigi Taylor-Roman.
In an announcement on May 16, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier included Monarch in a list of upcoming fall programming. Collier says the show is about "three generations of a country music family juggling life's rawest emotions — love and lust, hate and heartache, living in the shadow of your parents and coming-of-age."
The show marks Adkins' first starring role in a television drama series, but he already boasts a long string of acting credits that includes The Lincoln Lawyer, I Can Only Imagine, The Virginian, Deepwater Horizon and many more films and TV shows.