X
- 2022
- TV-14
- FOX
- 2022
- TV-14
- FOX
Summary The legacy of country music legends Dottie Cantrell Roman (Susan Sarandon) and Albie Roman (Trace Adkins) is threatened and their daughter (Anna Friel) will do everything to protect it in this drama series created by Melissa London Hilfers.
Created By: Melissa London Hilfers
- 2022
- TV-14
- FOX
- 2022
- TV-14
- FOX
Monarch
Season 1 Premiere: Sep 11, 2022
43
5.0
Where to Watch
Summary The legacy of country music legends Dottie Cantrell Roman (Susan Sarandon) and Albie Roman (Trace Adkins) is threatened and their daughter (Anna Friel) will do everything to protect it in this drama series created by Melissa London Hilfers.
Created By: Melissa London Hilfers
Where to Watch
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
43
17% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
42% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
43
17% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
42% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
A familiar family drama, relying on plot twists that any regular viewer of the genre can see coming from a mile away.
“Monarch” is a decidedly old-school, broadcast network prime-time sudser.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 6 User Ratings
5.0
50% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
33% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 6 User Ratings
5.0
50% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
33% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
After just 2 episodes, I had to share the dish on this show. It's not clear whether it's intentionally terrible or they're trying to create a meaningful drama and failing miserably. I enjoy it for the delightful awfulness. The setup echoes Fox's Empire, which chronicled a Black family's music biz. This time it's the first family of country music with Susan Sarandon chewing the scenery as the matriarch and Trace Adkins rather flat as her hubby. Every scene drops another trashy nugget to amp up the stakes with dialogue that's truly laughable. The brief musical performances feature enjoyably accessible tunes and there are regular cameos by famous musicians playing themselves. In the grand over-the-top tradition of shows like Dynasty, this series is trash TV at its best.
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Some of the twists you can see coming from the next state. ... Much more fun are the cameos by true country-music royalty. [26 Sep - 9 Oct 2022, p.4]
“Monarch” doesn’t intent to reinvent the wheel, but rather simply to wrap the rich-family soap template in a slightly different package, garnished with an assortment of country standards, sequins and cowboy hats.
Because “Monarch” (which is the name of the family company) doesn’t really dig beneath its “Dallas”/”Dynasty” trappings, there are plenty of moments that ring false. When the performers are on stage, they seem real. When they’re insulting each other at home, they look phony.
In working so hard to write around the frequent absence of the show’s biggest star and in embroidering brief time jumps to suggest something sinister is happening, “Monarch” has an antic, uncomfortable energy, as if it’s not confident being what it is or about what it’s about. Sarandon’s absence is only the beginning of the show’s problems, but one senses, in the end, that she had the right idea skipping out.
The problem is that when Sarandon isn’t on screen, the other characters do little more than wander around with their hands in their pockets waiting for Mama to return. That’s how bad the show’s thinly written plot structures and rote, soapy twists are. ... The show’s grand musical moments do, however, provide a handful of bewitching moments.
As first episodes often are, this one is a little bogged down with all the dialogue to set up the context and character introductions. Beyond that, it had the music and glamour you'd expect in a country music soap, and a somewhat interesting start of a story. Good production values. I'll give it another episode to see how it progresses.
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Disappointing performances on all levels, from the acting to the music. Questionable and basic storylines. It's like watching a train wreck! Where is the quality? Where is the country grit? Where is the original music? Where is the real production of a better show? To sum it up, Monarch feels incomplete and lacks authentic storytelling. Fledgling.
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Please don’t even waste your time on this show it’s a ten times worse empire with close to zero if not zero colored actors.
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Production Company:
- The Jackal Group
- Sandbox Productions
- "Oh That Gus!"
- London Calling
- Fox Television Studios
Initial Release Date: Sep 11, 2022
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-14
Awards
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards
• 1 Nomination
