Dolly Parton’s death is bringing her back to television screens across America.
CBS, ABC, and NBC have all lined up special programming in honour of the country music icon, who died in Nashville on August 25, 2026, at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
The three networks are taking different approaches, but each special returns to the life and career of a woman who spent more than six decades in the public eye.
CBS looks back at an American icon
CBS moved quickly with “Dolly Parton: An American Icon,” a one-hour primetime special examining her life, career and cultural impact.
Archival interviews and new reporting will revisit the woman behind songs such as “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” while tracing the journey that took her from rural Tennessee to worldwide fame.
For viewers, it offers the first major network look back at the career that made Dolly one of America’s most recognisable entertainers.
ABC revisits the woman behind the legend
ABC is telling Dolly’s story through “Dolly Parton: An American Original,” a special edition of “20/20” led by “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir.
The programme follows her rise from East Tennessee to global superstardom, while also exploring the different paths she took beyond music.
Her work in film, television, business and philanthropy helped turn Dolly into far more than a country music star.
After its ABC broadcast, the special will also stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
NBC completes the network tribute
NBC has joined in with “Dolly: An NBC News Special,” shifting attention to her life and the impact she leaves behind.
The tribute follows an earlier moment of remembrance on “America’s Got Talent,” where the singer received an on-air tribute during a live episode on the night news of her death broke.
With three major networks now devoting airtime to Dolly, the response reflects the unusual reach of her career.
Few entertainers moved as easily between country music, Hollywood, television, business and philanthropy. Fewer still remained familiar to several generations at the same time.
Now, as viewers tune in to remember her, the tributes are giving them another chance to revisit the woman behind the music, the laughter and the larger-than-life personality that made Dolly Parton impossible to mistake for anyone else.