9 to 5 Courtesy of Photofest
"I told them whenever I get a little block of time, I'd love to come be on the show."
It's been more than 25 years since Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin shared the screen in buddy comedy classic 9 to 5. And while Fonda and Tomlin have since collaborated on recent Netflix series Grace and Frankie, the holy trinity of frustrated feminists has yet to get the whole band back together.
Brace yourself for that to potentially change. While shilling for her NBC telepic Coat of Many Colors at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Thursday, Parton seemed quite enthusiastic about booking a spot on Grace and Frankie — at least after she figured out what it was.
"Who's Grace and Frankie?" Parton asked to a roomful of laughter. "Oh, you should of said 'Jane and Lily.'"
While she's not seen the series, and wasn't exactly sure that it was still up and running, she did not mince words about her desire to be reunited with two actresses. "I told them whenever I get a little block of time, I'd love to come be on the show," she said. "We always talked about a [9 to 5] reunion."
The self-deprecating 69-year-old went on to mock her age by saying that any 9 to 5 follow-up at this point would more closely resemble "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" or "Ninety-Five" — get it? — so a guest spot on Grace and Frankie is likely the next best thing.
9 to 5, which earned Parton an Oscar nomination for the title song and three Golden Globe noms, centered on three women who are given no choice but to abduct and blackmail their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" of a boss (played by Dabney Coleman) after Tomlin's character accidentally puts rat poison in his coffee. Parton went on to adapt the film for a brief Broadway run in 2008.
And while Parton may not have seen Grace and Frankie yet, she's at least familiar with the premise and that her two "girlfriends" are playing women whose husbands leave them for each other.
"I don't know what my husband [on the show] is going to turn out to be," added Parton, "but we'll figure it out."
Television Critics Association
