Once Upon A Time's Ginnifer Goodwin Is Heading To Netflix For Next TV Role

once upon a time snow white ginnifer goodwin abc
(Image credit: Image courtesy of ABC)

Ginnifer Goodwin was a regular presence on the small screen for years thanks to her role as Snow White on ABC's Once Upon a Time, and her departure (combined with many others of the original cast) marked the end of an era for that series. Now, Goodwin has signed on for a new role on a new show, and she won't be playing a fairy tale princess this time around. She landed a role in Netflix's upcoming Dolly Parton's Heartstrings.

Yes, you read that correctly! Netflix has a show in the works with the unlikely title of Dolly Parton's Heartstrings. The project is slated to be an anthology series with episodes inspired by Dolly Parton's music. The first season will consist of eight episodes and adapt "stories, memories and inspirations behind Parton's most beloved songs," according to TVLine. Ginnifer Goodwin landed a lead role in one chapter of the anthology.

The episode featuring Ginnifer Goodwin is called "These Old Bones," and she'll play a Washington D.C. lawyer by the name of Genevieve. She leaves D.C. behind and heads to her hometown in the Smoky Mountains, determined to prove that she has what it takes as a lawyer. Given that the setting is the 1940s, it's no wonder she has her work cut out for her!

Genevieve will run into trouble when an old woman from the mountains with the reputation for telling fortunes gets mixed up in a lumber company's business. The woman is named Miss Mary Shaw, although she is known as "Old Bones." Her arrival will bring about secrets from days gone by that test Genevieve's faith. Old Bones will be played by Kathleen Turner.

Kyle Bornheimer of Casual will play a character known as Landon, although no details are currently available about his part in "These Old Bones." Now, Dolly Parton's Heartstrings is not an anthology like American Horror Story, which reuses the same actors for new parts on a regular basis. Ginnifer Goodwin is currently slated only to appear in "These Old Bones."

Interestingly, Dolly Parton herself will introduce each episode by sharing the meaning behind each song, so Dolly Parton fans will definitely want to tune in. Parton will appear in certain of the Heartstrings episodes, but viewers may need to wait until the show premieres to find out the particulars.

Ginnifer Goodwin's role in Dolly Parton's Heartstrings shouldn't be so major that it prevents her from working on other projects, and she had another show in the works as recently as June. She was slated to take part in an ABC comedy that was an English-language remake of a Swedish series. Only time will tell if anything comes of that.

The former Snow White's Prince Charming is doing quite well for himself on the small screen since the end of Once Upon a Time. Josh Dallas -- who is both Ginnifer Goodwin's real-life husband and played her fairy tale hubby on Once Upon a Time -- currently stars on NBC's smash freshman hit Manifest. Could Goodwin make an appearance someday and delight Once Upon a Time fans?

The only thing we can safely say for now is that Ginnifer Goodwin will make her Dolly Parton's Heartstrings debut when the show premieres on Netflix at some point in 2019. Dolly Parton-based projects have become huge hits on the small screen, so Heartstrings may prove to be a very sound investment from the streaming giant.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).