DOLLY PARTON'S HEARTSTRINGS: SUGAR HILL (TV)
Summary
One in this series of anthology dramas inspired by the songs and stories of country music legend Dolly Parton. Parton introduces the episode and briefly discusses her 2002 song.
The story begins as Logan Cantrell bids farewell to his adult children Emma and Luke after a sad family funeral. Logan's wife Harper suggests a spontaneous road trip back to their hometown, Sugar Hill, where she and Logan were childhood playmates, much to her older brother's disapproval. Flashing back, young Logan watches in distress as his gruff bootlegger father is arrested by the cops. In the present, Harper gently urges Logan to visit the old man upon their return. Again flashing back, young Logan is sent to live with his grandmother and reunites with Harper as a teen; the two strike up a romance as he tells her about his dreams of playing professional baseball and she describes her desire to become a poet, like Maya Angelou. The two share a blissful evening swimming in a lake, though Logan has an unpleasant encounter with his drunken widower father when he gets home.
In the present, Harper takes Logan to their old favorite luncheonette; when he dodges their son's phone call, she points out that he has a habit of pushing people away when he's upset and in need of comfort, not unlike his father. In the past, teen Logan declares his love for Harper just as a baseball scout arrives and offers him a shot at playing for the Memphis Blues. Thrilled, Logan heads home to tell his father, but his dad is preoccupied by his own troubles, admitting that he needs to deliver a trunk filled with illegal booze across town or face consequences from his fellow criminals. A resentful Logan agrees to make the run just this once, and when he reunites with Harper later that night, she confronts him about his illegal activities and accuses him of being "just like his dad." Logan gets into a scuffle with Harper's brother, and she orders him out of her life for good.
Adult Harper and Logan head to the baseball field, where Logan ponders his life choices and mistakes, and Harper suggests that there's "someone looking after them." In the past, twentysomething Logan spots a flyer for Harper's poetry reading and hurries to the event. Harper — now pregnant — recites a work of hers entitled "Sugar Hill," clearly based on their teen romance. The two sit down to discuss their lives, with Harper explaining that her child's father is out of the picture. Logan, who left the town and his father years ago to pursue baseball, expresses regret for their disastrous split years ago. The two part on good terms, but Logan quickly realizes that Harper is his true soulmate and passionately proposes marriage, promising to raise her child as his own. The two are wed in an intimate ceremony, and in the present, when Logan's car gets a flat tire, he puts his teenage "skills" to use and hot-wires a local man's truck, leaving his Mercedes behind as a trade.
Logan visits his elderly father, and the two finally resolve their troubled relationship. Harper then takes Logan to the church in which they were married 40 years ago. As he breaks down in tears recalling their vows, Harper assures him that she will always be with him — revealing that she has recently died and accompanied him on the road trip in spirit. Logan calls his two kids and tells them of his meaningful voyage, promising to spend more time with them both upon his return. He scatters Harper's ashes in the lake where they swam and fell in love as teens.
Details
- NETWORK: Netflix
- DATE:
- RUNNING TIME: 1:03:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 140106
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Romance; Grief
- SERIES RUN: Netflix - Internet series, 2019-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Sam Haskell … Executive Producer
- Patrick Sean Smith … Executive Producer
- Dolly Parton … Executive Producer, Based on the stories and songs of
- Hudson Hickman … Co-Executive Producer
- Joe Lazarov … Co-Executive Producer
- Lisa Melamed … Co-Executive Producer
- Steven Summers … Coordinating Producer
- Billy Levin … Coordinating Producer
- William Klug … Co-Producer
- Lev L. Spiro … Director
- Thomas Ian Griffith … Writer
- Mary Page Keller … Writer
- Velton Ray Bunch … Music by
- Mark Leggett … Music by
- Dolly Parton … Host
- Patricia Wettig … Cast, Harper Cantrell
- Timothy Busfield … Cast, Logan Cantrell
- Tom Brittney … Cast, Young Logan
- Virginia Gardner … Cast, Young Harper
- Mark Ashworth … Cast, Otis
- Don Henderson Baker … Cast, Older Otis
- Sam Ashby … Cast, Austin
- Courtney Dietz … Cast, Callie
- Leanna Adams … Cast, Emma Marshall
- Andrew Roach … Cast, Luke Marshall
- Jonathan D. Bergman … Cast, Little Logan
- Laurel Emory … Cast, Little Harper
- Ethan Stormant … Cast, Little Monroe
- Keith Brooks … Cast, Earl
- Caleb McCoy … Cast, Walker
- Sir Brodie … Cast, Calvin Butler
- Stefan Rollins … Cast, Logan's Teammate
- Charles Lawlor … Cast, Priest
- Aaron Quick Nelson … Cast, Police Officer #1
- Trey Butler … Cast, Police Officer #2
- Adam Aalderks … Cast