Grey’s Anatomy will pay tribute to Dolly Parton on October 29, when the third episode of Season 23 airs with a storyline about a Dolly Parton impersonator. The episode even borrows its title, “It’s All Wrong, but It’s All Right,” from one of Parton’s songs.
The tribute was never the plan. The cast and crew were in the middle of filming the impersonator storyline when Parton died, showrunner Meg Marinis told Variety. The idea came out of the writers’ room as a lighthearted subplot from Jase Miles-Perez, who wrote Episode 3. “We were laughing, and we thought it was a hilarious storyline and so endearing because, again, who doesn’t like Dolly Parton?” Marinis said.
A Hard Day On Set For Debbie Allen
The news landed hardest on Debbie Allen, who was directing those scenes. Marinis said the team had to walk over to the stage and pull Allen aside to tell her what had happened, on the same day they were shooting the impersonator material. “We were literally filming the storyline that day on stage,” Marinis said. She called the storyline fun but said it was an emotional day for everyone, and for Allen in particular.
“Obviously, it wasn’t planned, but we were able to honor her with the storyline,” Marinis said. She added that she still doesn’t understand how Allen got through it.
What Else Happens In The Episode
ABC’s description of the episode doesn’t mention the impersonator at all and sticks to the regulars. Blue fights to win back his place at Grey Sloan, Jo gets pulled away from motherhood and back into the operating room, Jules and Winston are still on shaky ground, and Bailey is having a hard time finding her footing as a student.
Those threads carry over from the October 15 premiere, “Collide,” which opened a lavish new VIP floor at the hospital and introduced James Wolk as Seth Norton, the physician-turned-businessman who is now Grey Sloan’s chief of surgery.
How To Watch
“It’s All Wrong, but It’s All Right” airs Thursday, October 29, from 10 to 11 p.m. Eastern on ABC, per the network’s press schedule, and it streams the next day on Hulu. The episode is rated TV-14.
It isn’t the only Parton tribute on ABC this month. The network and Disney+ aired a live two-hour CMA tribute to Dolly Parton on October 21, so the Grey’s Anatomy episode follows the concert by about a week.
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