Dolly Parton on ‘Grace and Frankie’: How She Helped Netflix Show Say Goodbye

Dolly Parton made an appearance on Grace and Frankie, for the Netflix show’s final season, and the country music icon helped say goodbye to the beloved series. It had previously been reported that Parton would have a cameo on the show, making a reunion for the 9 to 5, and now we know just how it went down. Please note: Spoilers below for Grace and Frankie Season 7.

In the final season, Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) are inadvertently shuffled loose from the mortal coil and wind up at the pearly gates of heaven. There, they are greeted by Agnes (Parton) a “working class angel” who hasn’t “had a promotion in 250 years.” During their meeting, they discovered that Grace was not yet meant to start her afterlife, but Frankie, however, was a different story. With the two friends prepared to say goodbye, Agnes benevolently bestows a blessing on Frankie, giving her another shot at life as well. The two friends return back to the land of the living, revived with another new lease on life.

Grace and Frankie stars Fonda and Tomlin as two older women carving out new paths late in life, which includes being “odd couple” roommates, finding new loves, and launching their own adult toy business. Additional cast members include Sam Waterston, Martin Sheen, June Diane Raphael, Brooklyn Decker, Baron Vaughn, Ethan Embry, and Peter Gallagher. In September 2019, Fonda and Tomlin addressed the end of Grace and Frankie, telling ET that they were simultaneously excited and sad about the seventh and final, season.

“We are both delighted and heartbroken that Grace and Frankie will be back for its seventh, though final, season. We’re so grateful that our show has been able to deal with issues that have really connected to our grand generation. And their kids, and amazingly, their kids as well!” the pair said in a joint statement. “We’ll miss these two old gals, Grace and Frankie, as much as many of their fans will, but we’ll still be around. We’ve outlasted so many things – just hope we don’t outlast the planet.”

Ahead of the big finale, Grace and Frankie co-creator Marta Kauffman spoke to Deadline about the show’s ending and revealed that it was always the plan to keep things upbeat and positive. “It’s a show about how you could start your life over at any point,” Kauffman explained. “And we knew that the end of the show had to have that feeling that it isn’t about doors closing. It’s not about things that are taken away from you as you age. It’s about what are the possibilities.” All seven seasons of Grace and Frankie are now streaming on Netflix.