Danica McKellar's Dolly Parton Connection Goes Beyond Hallmark

Before she left the Hallmark channel, Danica McKellar teamed up with Dolly Parton for Hallmark's unforgettable "Christmas at Dollywood." In the 2019 flick, McKellar stars as an NYC event planner who returns to Tennessee for the holidays. Once back home, she's tasked with coordinating Dollywood's thirtieth-anniversary celebration event, working alongside the venue's Director of Operations, who's played by Niall Matter. While "Christmas at Dollywood" marks a special moment for Parton and McKellar, their connection goes beyond their shared Hallmark flick. 

Before the movie, McKellar's children's book, titled "Goodnight, Numbers," was added to Parton's Imagination Library in 2018. "If you're familiar, that's a charity that Dolly Parton has been running for 25 years," McKellar told TV Fanatic. "She donates books to little kids all around the world, ages zero to five, and she's been doing it, she's done now over 125 million books to kids." This connection, along with McKellar's work on another Imagination Library project, eventually gave the Hallmark star the idea for the iconic, Dolly-inspired Christmas flick.

In an interview with Imagination Library, Danica McKellar revealed that she has been a long-time fan of music icon Dolly Parton. "I've admired Dolly Parton since childhood, and even more so upon learning of her Imagination Library," she shared. This made having one of her children's books — a math-centered bedtime story — inducted into Parton's "Imagination Library" an even bigger honor for the Hallmark star.

Not only did this induction connect McKellar to Parton in a special way, but it also allowed her work to be spread to children who might not otherwise have access to it. "They make low-cost versions of popular children's books," the "Love and Sunshine" actor explained to TV Fanatic. "These little kids who normally couldn't afford books are getting access to wonderful material that they and their parents can read together and connect over."

After McKellar's book was inducted into Parton's charity, she was enlisted to narrate "The Library that Dolly Built," a documentary about the singer's Imagination Library. This in itself was another major honor for the Hallmark star, but she also unexpectedly met Parton during a recording session. While McKellar confessed that she felt "dorky" during the original meeting, she had nothing but positive things to say about the star. "She is everything you want her to be and more," the actor told Access Hollywood. "She's gracious and lovely."

After Danica McKellar's book "Goodnight, Numbers" was added to Dolly Parton's children's charity, the Hallmark star came up with the idea for a Dollywood-centered holiday flick. When talking to Debbie Matenopoulos and Cameron Mathison of Hallmark's "Home & Family," McKellar revealed that the thought came to her after attending an Imagination Library celebration event.

"I had been at the Washington DC celebration–at the Library of Congress–of the Imagination Library having given away a hundred million books to kids," the California native explained, adding that she had lunch with Hallmark executive Michelle Vickery upon her return. "She said, 'We want an interesting location for your Christmas movie next year and do you have any ideas?' and I was like, I mean Dolly Parton was just on my mind. I said, 'Well how about Christmas at Dollywood?'"

From there, McKellar was encouraged to get a writer and producer on board to bring the proposal to life. "And the idea of whether we could get Dolly to be in it with her songs, well, it all happened," she told TV Fanatic. "I mean, it's just so magical, and we had such a great time shooting it." Next time you turn on "Christmas at Dollywood," make sure to keep an eye out for McKellar's "Goodnight, Numbers," as this significant link to Parton makes a special cameo.