Dolly Parton has written a new Christmas musical starring Christine Baranski. Maybe some good can come from 2020 after all

Dolly Parton has penned 14 songs for Christmas on the Square

It’s going to take a miracle to salvage the gender reveal party fire of a year that 2020 has been so far. And by miracle, we mean Dolly Parton and Christine Baranski.

The two gay icons are teaming up for a Christmas-themed Netflix movie musical – yes, you read all of those words right – to deliver what promises to be a spectacle camp enough to almost make up for the cancellation of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Dolly Parton and Christine Baranski team up for Christmas On The Square.

Dolly Parton has put her songwriting talent to work penning 14 original songs for the movie musical, Christmas On The Square, which is set to debut on Netflix on 22 November.

Directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen, the film sounds like a camper take of A Christmas Carol, featuring a Grinch-like rich woman (The Good Fight star Christine Baranski) who is preparing to screw over her local community by selling her father’s land to a property developer.

However, she undergoes a change-of-heart thanks to a rekindling romance and an encounter with an angel – played, of course, by Dolly Parton.

Dolly Parton has penned 14 songs for Christmas on the Square

Dolly Parton has penned 14 songs for Christmas on the Square

The cast for the upcoming film also includes Treat Williams (Blue Bloods), Josh Segarra (Orange Is the New Black) and Jeanine Mason (Roswell, New Mexico).

Singer surprises fans with new Christmas track… in September.

Dolly Parton will also release a new Christmas album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, to tie in with the film’s release – with title track “Christmas on the Square” already out.

Of course, fans noted, only Dolly Parton could get away with releasing a Christmas single in September.

One fan quipped: “She popped this song out so early nobody has had a chance to get Christmas music burnout yet!”

Another wrote: “I have said it before. Dolly for president!!”

Parton previously provided the soundtrack for 2018 Netflix movie Dumplin’, writing six songs for the occasion. Parton said one of her favourite parts of the film was a scene featuring drag queens.

She said: “I have a huge gay following and the drag queens have always loved me because they’re flamboyant and so am I, and it kind of gives them a little freedom, and they’ve always loved to dress like me because they can kind of over-exaggerate it.

“So I’m pleased and touched by that. I think it’s a form of flattery, and I’m excited about it.”

The US country artist has been a strong supporter of LGBT+ people for many years.