Monarch (American TV series)

Did You Know?

• Tying into the episode "About Last Night", Fox partnered with ReserveBar and Next Century Spirits to create a bourbon whiskey named Truthteller 1839, named after Albie Roman's moniker.
• The series was originally scheduled to premiere on January 30, 2022, but was delayed to fall 2022 due to COVID-19 issues and a change in showrunner.
• The pilot aired four times over four days, leading out of Fox's NFL coverage.

Cast and characters

Anna Friel plays Nicolette "Nicky" Roman, the daughter of Dottie and Albie who finds it hard to measure up to the family name; Taegan Burns portrays Nicky as a child. Trace Adkins is Albie Roman, Dottie's husband and a famous singer-songwriter nicknamed the "Texas Truthteller." Joshua Sasse appears as Luke Roman, the son of Dottie and Albie who runs Monarch Records as its CEO, with Gavin Bedell playing a younger Luke. Beth Ditto takes on the role of Georgina "Gigi" Taylor-Roman, the younger daughter who avoided the public eye; Elena Murray plays young Gigi. Meagan Holder is Kayla Taylor-Roman, Gigi's wife. Susan Sarandon stars as Dottie Cantrell Roman, known as the "Queen of Country Music," with Mandy Barnett providing her singing voice and Eva Amurri, Sarandon's actual daughter, playing young Dottie in flashbacks. Emma Milani plays Ana Phoenix, a rising musician trying to get a deal with Monarch. Martha Higareda is Catt Phoenix, Ana's mother, who has a connection to the Roman family's history. Adam Croasdell plays Clive Grayson, Nicky's cheating husband who works in movies. Ava Grace appears as Tatum Grayson, Nicky and Clive's adopted daughter. Faith Prince is Nellie Cantrell, Dottie's sister. Callum Kerr portrays Wade Stellings, a new and popular artist signed to Monarch. Libby Blake plays Marybeth Oldenburg, a medical examiner. Kevin Cahoon appears as Earl Clark, Dottie's loyal assistant. D. W. Moffett plays Tripp DeWitt, the district attorney for the Roman family. Damon Dayoub is Jamie Burke, a music producer who works with Albie and later becomes Nicky's romantic interest. Several country stars play themselves, including Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Little Big Town, Caitlyn Smith, and Tanya Tucker. Devan Katherine plays Imogen Lowe, and Gabriela Hernandez plays Rosa Flores.

Production

The country music drama Monarch was first announced in May 2021. Melissa London Hilfers created the show and served as an executive producer. Michael Rauch originally acted as showrunner and executive producer, but Jon Feldman took over those duties in November 2021. Additional executive producers included Hend Baghdady, Gail Berman, and Jason Owen. Each episode ran for one hour. Jason Ensler directed and executive produced the two-part pilot. Filming took place in Atlanta, Georgia, starting on September 13, 2021, and wrapping on March 31, 2022. The lead cast, announced in September 2021, featured Susan Sarandon, Trace Adkins, Beth Ditto, Josh Sasse, Megan Holder, Inigo Dominic Pascual, Martha Higareda, and Emma Milani. Recurring roles at that time went to Eva Amurri, Adam Croasdell, and Faith Prince. In November 2021, Callum Kerr, Kevin Cahoon, Reshma Shetty, Damon Dayoub, and D.W. Moffett joined the recurring cast. An August 17, 2022 trailer revealed that country stars Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Tanya Tucker, and Little Big Town would appear as themselves. Fox canceled the series after one season on December 7, 2022.

Music

The series' music, released through Arista Records, blends original songs with covers. Its title track, "The Card You Gamble," was written by Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, and Hillary Lindsey, and performed by Caitlyn Smith, dropping on January 14, 2022. Another original, "American Cowgirl," written by Casey Brown, Heather Morgan, and music supervisor Adam Anders, was performed by Anna Friel as her character Nicky and released on August 3, 2022.