Monarch is a country-music drama airing on Fox, starring Trace Adkins, Susan Sarandon, Anna Friel, and Beth Ditto.
When country-music legend Dottie Cantrell Roman reveals that she's dying, her daughter Nicolette sees her chance at the spotlight, and her mama's fully prepared to give her that chance. But there's a high cost for that chance, and meanwhile, her sister Gigi is also angling for a shot.
On December 7, 2022, it was announced that the show had been cancelled after one season.
This series contains example of:
- Advertised Extra: The promos made a huge deal of Oscar winner Susan Sarandon headlining her own TV series. As it happens, Dottie dies in the final scene of the pilot and Sarandon only briefly appears in flashbacks in the following episodes.
- Camp Gay: Earl Clark, Dottie's loyal makeup artist, is a very effeminate gay man.
- Connected All Along: The early episodes make it appear that Catt simply wants Ana to be a successful country star. Then it turns out Catt is the daughter of Albie, the woman Dottie killed in a fire years ago and this is a plan for revenge.
- Cure Your Gays: Albie and Dottie sent Gigi away to a camp when she was a teenager to try and make her straight. Then, when that didn't take, they sent her to a camp to try and make her straight and skinny. Which didn't take, either.
- Different World, Different Movies:
- In the world of the show, Dottie stole Shania Twain's "Man I Feel Like A Woman" with Twain still angry she lost what could have been a great song. After she agrees to perform it at Dottie's funeral, the family crack on having her sing "that B-side flop."
- Later episodes make it appear that in this world, the Romans were behind virtually every other country music hit of the last thirty years, from Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places" to "Something Bad's About To Happen."
- One episode has Nicki singing "Before He Cheats." Later, she and Gigi are surprised to hear Carrie Underwood just landed a big gig and describe the woman we know as one of the biggest stars in country music as "a hack."
- Face Death with Dignity: In the pilot, Dottie intends to kill herself after the family musicale, ostensibly so that she goes out before her disease affects her looks.
- First-Episode Twist: The first episode ends with Dottie committing suicide after finding out she has cancer.
- Happily Married: Albie and Dottie Roman have been married for four decades, and in all that time, there's only been one infidelity between them.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Luke knows that there's something off about the death of his mother, but has no idea about the real circumstances behind it.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Gigi figures Dottie didn't write her goodbye letters as they're far too kind and warm than the woman she knew and figures Nicki wrote them.
- The Prima Donna: Shania Twain plays herself as a bitter rival of Dottie's who never forgave her for doing a cover of "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" that outsold Twain's original.
- Refuge in Audacity: Dottie appears as a hologram at her own funeral just so that she can upstage her sister's performance.
- Secretly Dying: In the pilot, the country music world learns that Dottie Cantrell Roman is dying of cancer.
- Secret-Keeper: Gigi reluctantly agrees to cover up Nicki's role in their mother's death because she can't bear the thought of losing her sister, too.
- Successful Sibling Syndrome: Gigi has long let Nicki have the spotlight as the singer of the family thanks to Dottie's words "there can be only one queen." Nicki realizes that Gigi is honestly convinced she was doing her sister a favor because if she showed her real singing abilities, she'd be the star in the family and Nicki would be the one in her shadow.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Luke, the only son of the Roman family, has been trying for years to gain his father's approval through managing Monarch, the family's record label.
- Wham Shot: Catt removes her towel to show her back burned, revealing she's Albie's daughter who barely escaped the fire.
