<p id=”par-1_49″>In 1987, Dolly Parton’s <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/set-dolly-partons-variety-show-miserable.html/”>short-lived variety show</a> traveled <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-gave-stipends-people-hometown-devastating-fire.html/”>to her hometown</a> for the Thanksgiving episode. While the show got off to a strong start, its viewership quickly began to decline. Parton said her Thanksgiving episode brought in a greater number of viewers than the ones in her studio, though.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-s-show-saw-a-bump-in-viewership-on-thanksgiving”>Dolly Parton’s show saw a bump in viewership on Thanksgiving</h2>
<p id=”par-2_24″>Parton began hosting <em>Dolly</em>, a variety show, in 1987. Though it brought in many viewers in its first episode, her audience didn’t stick around.</p>
<p id=”par-3_93″>“The truth was that people had tuned in out of curiosity and because the show had been hyped through the roof,” Parton wrote in her book <em><a href=”https://dollyparton.com/book/dolly-my-life-and-other-unfinished-business-autobiography” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business</a></em>. “The ratings fell steadily after the premiere until they leveled off at about a fourteen share, which I think represents my core of true fans who would watch me if I went on TV and milked a goat. Come to think of it, milking a goat would have been more entertaining than some of the stuff that machine put out.”</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Family is the most important gift you’ll ever receive. Take some time to be grateful for your family, no matter what that looks like, today. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! <a href=”https://t.co/IH7Vw8hYSM”>pic.twitter.com/IH7Vw8hYSM</a></p>— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DollyParton/status/1065610783986515970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 22, 2018</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-4_34″>Still, Parton brought in a bigger audience when the show went on the road. They did this for the first time for the Thanksgiving episode, which took place in Parton’s hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee.</p>
<p id=”par-5_48″>“By far the most successful shows were the few episodes where we took the show on the road,” she wrote. “A Thanksgiving show back home, a show in Hawaii, one in New Orleans, and one in Nashville came a lot closer to allowing my personality to come through.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_21″>In the Thanksgiving special, Parton attended the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-day-singers-hometown-make-family-uncomfortable.html/”>town’s Dolly Parton Day</a>, traveled to Dollywood, and visited her childhood home and church. </p>
<p id=”par-7_18″>The episode’s bump in viewers wasn’t <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-said-short-lived-tv-show-sucked-chaff.html/”>enough to save the show</a>, though, and it ended after one season.</p>