‘Monarch’ Showrunner Jon Feldman Says Parallels To Naomi Judd’s Death Are “The Most Tragic, Eerie Of Coincidences”
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Anyone who tuned into the first two episodes of Monarch, Fox’s primetime soap that stars Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins as the king and queen of country music, saw uncomfortable parallels to the real-life death of Naomi Judd.
Besides depicting how Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon) orchestrates her own suicide in the premiere, the drama’s second episode on Sept.
20 featured a funeral that was meticulously organized by Dottie before her death — just like what Judd did before committing suicide on April 30.The fictitious funeral in Monarch even featured the popular Judd song “Love Can Build a Bridge,” which was sung by Wynonna Judd during the televised memorial for her mom.Here, Executive Producer Jon Feldman, who replaced Michael Rauch on the drama last November, talks about the “eerie” coincidences in Monarch‘s first two episodes and whether there was any talk about changing certain scenes after Judd’s passing.DEADLINE Was the pilot already in the can when you joined the project?JON FELDMAN Yes.
We did additional photography but the bulk of the pilot had already been shot. The show had been developed for several years.
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