Reba McEntire is set to perform a tribute to Dolly Parton at Monday night’s Emmy Awards, honoring her longtime friend and fellow country music icon less than a month after Parton’s death. The 78th Emmy Awards air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on NBC and Peacock, hosted by Mariska Hargitay. Organizers have not disclosed which song McEntire will perform.
Parton died August 25 at age 80 following what her family described as a brief battle with cancer. She and McEntire shared decades of collaboration and friendship, including a 2021 duet reworking McEntire’s hit “Does He Love You.” Parton also made a cameo appearance on McEntire’s sitcom “Reba” in 2005. After Parton’s death, McEntire wrote on social media that her friend’s love, music and enormous heart meant there would never be another quite like her.
Parton’s relationship with television stretched well beyond music. She earned five Emmy nominations over her career and won Outstanding Television Movie in 2021 for “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square.” Her production company, Sandollar Productions, backed television projects including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” years before she won her own trophy.
The tribute anchors a broader night of retrospectives at this year’s ceremony. The Television Academy has confirmed Noah Kahan will perform “Bridge Over Troubled Water” during the In Memoriam segment. The show will also mark the 30th anniversary of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with appearances from David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar, alongside a 50th-anniversary “Charlie’s Angels” reunion featuring Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson is expected to appear in a pre-taped segment opening the telecast, a nod to Hargitay’s well-known devotion to the team; she has been a regular courtside presence at Madison Square Garden. Asked about Brunson ahead of the ceremony, Hargitay declined to confirm the appearance.
The presenter lineup has also grown to include Awkwafina, John Mulaney, Emma D’Arcy, Emmy Rossum and Sofía Vergara, joining previously announced names such as Zendaya, Florence Pugh and Jon Hamm, as NBC looks to inject more entertainment into a broadcast that trimmed several categories from the live show this year.
