FOX Entertainment’s new country music/TV series premieres Sunday night

Country artist Trace Adkins plays patriarch of fictional Roman family in new Fox drama monarchHe is Albee Roman, with TV wife Dottie Cantrell Roman played by Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon.The show will premiere this Sunday (September 11)^th), but Adkins and a few others associated with the show recently gathered in Nashville to preview the first episode with members of the media.

Adkins says he wants to be a part of it monarch As soon as he saw the first script.

“I was on a tour bus and my manager called and said someone wanted you to do a TV show,” he recalls. “I said send me a script. When I found out who I was going to work with, I knew it had to be something FOX Entertainment promised. It wasn’t going to be some one-off little thing. So, I could sing and play my part, and yes, I could do it. I had a lot of fun.”

The story revolves around the reign of the Roman family in Texas as country music royalty. But when everything could fall apart, the rest of the family, like daughter Nicky Roman (played by Anna Friel), are prepared to go to great lengths to preserve that legacy. There are secrets, lies and lots of country music.

Alex Anders has worked on the TV musical comedy/drama Glee and is monarch. (He was part of an entire musical team that included his brothers Adam Anders and Peer Astrom.) While the show is set in Austin, it was actually filmed in Atlanta, and all music was recorded in Nashville .

“We’ve got a lot of great Nashville songwriters on the show, so there’s going to be some really great original songs coming out,” Anders said. “Trace has one that I know you’ll love. And some great covers.”

While country music fans are familiar with Ad​​​kins, the women who play his daughters Anna Friel and Beth Ditto are new to the genre. Part of Anders’ job was helping them transition to singing country music.

“Everyone has to find their own ‘voice’ for their role,” he explained. “Beth is from indie rock or punk and now she’s singing ‘How I Live’. It’s not the same. As for Anna, she’s singing Irish folk, kinda country related, so that’s helpful, but from the UK She had to find a whole new voice for this style of music. She worked really hard and I’m so proud of what she’s accomplished. Singing in different accents, different styles, while recording from the producers how and where to sing —You can only think of so many things at a time. It’s incredible.”

Although country music is the star of the show, monarch Definitely a drama that touched on some of the deeper themes in the first season. Actress Susan Sarandon plays the powerful Roman matriarch, and Adkins said it was a thrill to work with her.

“I was terrified (at first) but soon I realised that when you work with someone like her, confident, accomplished and professional like her, you realise, gosh, she’s going to carry Started this scene. All I had to do was swim behind her, hold on, and hope that if I survived the scene, it might be okay. She was so gracious, helpful and kind, and made me feel comfortable.”

such an important part of music monarch, some well-known country artists will be featured on the show. Look for Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Tanya Tucker and Little Big Town to fill guest roles on upcoming episodes.

Up-and-coming country singer Caitlyn Smith sings theme song monarch, Glad the prime-time show will feature country music.

“I love TV shows Nashville At that time, it was really because of the music,” she said. “So, when I heard about the show, I was like yes, yes, yes! “

She said the song “The Card You Gamble” by Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna set the perfect tone for the show.

“It has a dusty old-fashioned vibe to it. It’s also really dark about the energy of the show. I think it’s the perfect song to start a series like this.”

Anders said he hoped monarch Will help introduce the younger generation to songs they didn’t have before.

“I want it to be like what Glee did. It’s a whole different style, a whole different thing, but I want it to be like what Glee did to a whole new audience Introducing many amazing songs.”

Adkins hopes so too.he thinks monarch Just in time for a prime-time TV show.

“I think this show is going to prove to some people who might be skeptical that country music can carry a TV show. Because country music is the star of the show, and as a star, I think it’s capable of carrying the whole thing.”

He smiled, then added, “I can’t wait for people to go, ‘Hell, he’s right.'”

Monarch premieres Sunday, September 11^th After the FOX NFL Doubleheader. It’s a special day and time as a way to introduce it to the audience.It will premiere again during the regular season on Tuesday, September 20^th 9:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM ET.