Cyrus to star in series

Associated Press

NEW YORK

A late-night glimpse of a Pentecostal church while he was walking his dog inspired country singer Billy Ray Cyrus to dream up a television series that the CMT network said Thursday will become part of its schedule early next year.

Cyrus will star in the comedy, “Still the King,” as Vernon Brown, a one-hit country star turned Elvis Presley impersonator who becomes a minister at a country church outside of Nashville.

“Still the King” puts CMT back into business with Cyrus, daddy of Miley and frequent presence on the network when his “Achy Breaky Heart” was a hit two decades ago.

“We built bridges around the world together in the early ‘90s, places where country music hadn’t been or hadn’t been for a long time,” Cyrus said in an interview.

“Getting together again with CMT was very exciting.”

One night when his tour bus made a gas stop on the Gulf Coast, Cyrus walked with his dog and began thinking about how Elvis Presley performed in the area at the start of his career. He saw a church in the distance, and things came together in his mind when the bus ride resumed.