Leslie Jordan is reprising his iconic role as cross-dressing Brother Boy in the new television series based on the movie “Sordid Lives.”

“Sordid Lives: The Series” premieres Wednesday night on the Logo cable network. It is directed by Del Shores, who also wrote the play on which the movie about a dysfunctional Texas family is based.

The series’ cast includes comedian Carolyn Rhea, Bonnie Bedelia, Emmy winner Rue McClanahan, Beth Grant from “No Country for Old Men” and singer Olivia Newton-John.

Despite that all-star cast, early reviews are panning the series. TVGuide.com called it “stagy and coarse” and a “big ol’ Southern-fried mess of strenuous eccentricity.”

“The series is written as a prequel to the movie,” said Jordan in a phone interview. “It begins on the day Tammy Wynette dies.”

In the premiere, Brother Boy learns his country idol has died. Georgette Jones, playing the ghost of her mother, the late Tammy Wynette, appears to Brother Boy in a dream asking him to carry on her legacy, according to Jordan.

“Georgette told me she now lives in LA — lower Alabama,” Jordan said with a laugh. “She told me stories of growing up in dressing rooms with her mom.”

In a news release, Shores said it was “such a thrill to work with Georgette” in his series.

”If you know my work, you know my intense love for Tammy Wynette. Georgette not only played her mother in the series to perfection, but she sang all of Tammy’s songs that we used and just soared,” said the director.

Jones recently sang the duet “You and Me and Time,” with her father, George Jones. That song is the first single off his new album, “Burn Your Playhouse Down.”

Jordan said 12 episodes of “Sordid Lives: The Series” were shot on location in Shreveport, La. The cast reunited in New York City on July 15 for the premiere party.