Now that she's no longer working 9 to 5 on The Young and the Restless, Jessica Collins (ex-Avery Bailey Clark) has time for other projects. And the next show to bring the Emmy-winning actress back to television is the upcoming Netflix series Dolly Parton's Heartstrings.
Collins is set to play the role of Monica in the anthology, which will feature a unique cast for each episode based on a different Dolly Parton song.
"The eight one-hour episodes will feature new and classic music from Parton: love stories, inspirational tales, Westerns and revenge comedies," says the Hollywood Reporter. "The series will follow a template set by the pair of TV movies NBC made with Parton based on her song 'Coat of Many Colors,' [which starred Y&R's Alyvia Alan Lind (Faith Newman) as young Dolly]."
Shares Parton in an official statement about Heartstrings: "As a songwriter, I have always enjoyed telling stories through my music. I am thrilled to be bringing some of my favorite songs to life with Netflix. We hope our show will inspire and entertain families and folks of all generations, and I want to thank the good folks at Netflix and Warner Bros. TV for their incredible support."
Heartstrings is set to premiere in 2019 under Netflix's usual all-at-once release pattern. The first episode is titled "Jolene" and will star Julianne Hough, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Dallas Roberts, and Y&R/General Hospital alum Scott Reeves (ex-Steven Webber).
Additional casting for the seven other episodes has yet to be revealed, but IMDb lists Collins' episode title as the Dolly Parton song "Cracker Jack," which was a previously unreleased bonus track included on the 2007 reissue of the singer's album Jolene.
Filming for Dolly Parton's Heartstrings took place in Atlanta in the latter part of 2018, and Collins shared a behind-the-scenes photo of herself on set with her two-year-old daughter, Jemma.
"Can't wait to tell you about this new project that's so special to me!" she captioned the photo. "And thank you to the city of Atlanta for making us feel at home."
Collins' first acting credit is the role of Loving's Dinah Mayberry, which she played from 1991 to 1993. She went on to appear on shows like Beverly Hills, 90210, American Dreams, Tru Calling, and Big Shots before she landed the role of Y&R's Avery in 2011. The New York native decided to leave the CBS soap opera in 2015 but briefly returned to the genre to attend the 2016 Daytime Emmy Awards, where she took home the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Since then, she has made guest appearances on 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy.
What do you think about Jessica Collins landing a role on Dolly Parton's Heartstrings? How much do you miss seeing the actress in Genoa City? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
