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1883 (TV series)

1883 is an American Western drama television miniseries created by Taylor Sheridan that premiered on December 19, 2021, on Paramount+. The series stars Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sam Elliott, Isabel May, LaMonica Garrett, Marc Rissmann, Audie Rick, Eric Nelsen, and James Landry Hébert. The story is chronologically the first of several prequels to Sheridan's Yellowstone and details how the Duttons came to own the land that became the Yellowstone Ranch.

1883

1883: A Yellowstone Origin Story[1]

Western

Taylor Sheridan

Isabel May

United States

English

1

10

David Hutkin

Ben Richardson

  • Nathan Gunn
  • John Coniglio
  • Ryan Malanaphy
  • Brooke Rupe
  • Chad Galster
  • Martin Nicholson
  • Trevor Penna

Single-camera

44–67 minutes

Paramount+

December 19, 2021 (2021-12-19) –
February 27, 2022 (2022-02-27)

The second installment produced in the Yellowstone franchise, the series consists of ten episodes and concluded on February 27, 2022.[2][3][4] Narrated by May, the series was followed by 1923, which premiered on December 18, 2022, with May returning as narrator.

Premise[edit]

The series follows the post-Civil war generation of the Dutton family as they leave Tennessee, journey to Fort Worth, Texas, and join a wagon train undertaking the arduous journey west to Oregon (the Duttons are never on the actual Oregon Trail itself), before settling in Montana to establish what would eventually become the Yellowstone Ranch.

as Shea Brennan, an employee of the Pinkerton Agency leading the expedition. Brennan is a former captain who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. His wife Helen and daughter both die of smallpox right before the start of the expedition. While mourning their deaths, he cremated them by setting fire to their house and contemplated suicide, but was interrupted by the arrival of Thomas. Brennan acts as the rugged and commanding leader of the wagon train, frequently reminding members of the danger and tragedy that they will face along the way.[5]

Sam Elliott

as James Dillard Dutton. From Tennessee, he was a captain in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War and was wounded during the Battle of Antietam and captured. He was held in a Union prisoner-of-war camp for three years. A skilled leader and combatant, he joins the wagon train with his family after meeting Brennan and Thomas in Fort Worth, Texas.[6]

Tim McGraw

as Margaret Dutton, John Dutton III's great-grandmother and the matriarch of the family. She travels via train from Tennessee with her children, sister-in-law, Claire, and niece, Mary Abel, to Fort Worth to begin a new journey with her husband, James.[5]

Faith Hill

as Elsa Dutton, James and Margaret Dutton's resourceful 17-year-old daughter.[7] Much of the story is told in her voice as an inner narrative. Young, unconventional and innocent at the outset, she looks forward to the expedition as a great adventure. Elsa becomes hardened during the difficult journey west, also becoming enamored of a cowboy and later a Comanche warrior; much to the dismay of her parents. However, she also becomes a skilled survivalist and cowgirl.[8]

Isabel May

as Thomas, a Pinkerton agent and veteran U.S. Army sergeant from a Buffalo Soldier regiment. He teams up with Shea Brennan to help guide the group. His arrival helps dissuade Shea from suicide. Thomas is a skilled frontiersman, and later begins a relationship with Noemi, the Romani widow.[9]

LaMonica Garrett

as Josef, a German immigrant who is married to Risa and worked as a carpenter before travelling to America. He aids the expedition serving as an interpreter for his group and as a liaison between the Americans and immigrants.[10][11]

Marc Rissmann

Audie Rick as John Dutton Sr., John Dutton III's grandfather, as a young boy. He is the younger child of James and Margaret and is five years old at the beginning of the journey.[10]

[6]

as Ennis, a young cowboy who is paid to escort the group and tend to their cattle. He develops a relationship with Elsa.[10]

Eric Nelsen

James Landry Hébert as Wade, the lead cowboy.

[10]

Noah Le Gros as Colton, an experienced cowboy who joins the group at the Texas-side of the Red River.

[10]

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

In February 2021, Taylor Sheridan signed a five-year deal with ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment Group following the success of Yellowstone. Under the deal, he would create new series for both studios. One of these was a prequel to Yellowstone, set to be broadcast on Paramount+, initially called Y: 1883.[40] Sheridan said that he struggled with writer's block after selling the concept to Paramount+, but he managed to overcome it. While working on another series, Mayor of Kingstown, Sheridan noticed Isabel May auditioning for a role on that show. Focusing on the perspective of "what would happen if someone like May left polite society behind" Sheridan completed the 1883 pilot script in a week.[41] The series was allotted a budget of $175 million, and it was eventually produced for $169 million.[42]

Casting[edit]

Sheridan went on to make Paramount hire May, a relative unknown, before he was even finished writing the script, because "it won't work if we don't get her."[43] As he explained in a December 2022 interview; "When you find talents like Isabel [May], you just want to work with them again, and again, and again, and again."[44]


On August 4, 2021, it was announced that Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott had joined the cast.[5] A further announcement on August 21 confirmed Isabel May and announced that LaMonica Garrett had joined the cast.[9] On September 10, December 6, and December 10, respectively, it was confirmed that Billy Bob Thornton, Graham Greene, and Tom Hanks had joined as guest stars.[13][15][45]

Filming[edit]

Filming on the series started in August 2021 in Texas and concluded in Montana in January 2022.[46]


Scenes that took place in urban centers were filmed in Dallas, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas and Granbury, Texas. Also, a new, permanent, Western town with 26 structures was built at the Yellowstone Film Ranch. Rural scenes were filmed at a variety of locations, primarily in Texas.[47] The Dutton Ranch scenes were filmed at the real Chief Joseph Ranch[48] in Darby, Montana; the massive home is also used for the series "Yellowstone".[49]


Many of the actors expressed discomfort at the cold temperatures while filming in Montana. Star Faith Hill deemed filming as "the most physically and mentally challenging thing we have ever done."[41] Star Sam Elliott also expressed that filming his scenes was difficult, but "we're getting it onscreen, and in the end that's what matters. This is really going to be something special."[41]


Isabel May (who plays Elsa Dutton) discussed Taylor Sheridan's quest for "authenticity" concerning no cosmetics nor shaving of underarm hair. In Town & Country, May emphasized, "Taylor said from the very beginning, 'I want everything to be authentic.' I mean, women didn't start shaving until the 1920s. He really wanted that to be an aspect of the show, and so I was more than happy to oblige."[8]

Music[edit]

The series's score was composed by Brian Tyler and Breton Vivian, both of whom worked on Yellowstone.

Release[edit]

On November 8, 2021, a first-look trailer for the series was released;[50] a full trailer was released on December 3.[51] The series made its TV premiere on December 25, 2021, on CMT. The first episode was run on Paramount Network, who ordered the show before they moved it to streaming on affiliated platform Paramount+ during its development, as part of promoting the show, like they did with Mayor of Kingstown. The series was released on Blu-ray and DVD under the title 1883: A Yellowstone Origin Story on August 30, 2022.[1]

Official website

at IMDb

1883