‘George & Tammy’: They were a towering couple of country music, but their story was infused with sadness

Jessica Chastain, left, as Tammy Wynette and Michael Shannon as George Jones in "George & Tammy" on Showtime.

"Stand By Your Man" was the most popular — and debated — song by Tammy Wynette. In "George & Tammy," the six-part Showtime drama about her short but complicated marriage to fellow country music star George Jones, she sings that famous song twice, first in the recording studio when she's not fully on board with it yet.

The limited series starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain is at its best when it uses the couple's music to make subtle (or not-so-subtle) points about their tumultuous relationship.

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Michael Shannon as George Jones in "George & Tammy." An old Texas Monthly profile of Jones painted him as an unknowable figure and Shannon's performance echoes that.

Jessica Chastain does her own singing as Tammy Wynette in "George & Tammy."

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