Country music power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have toured together and even done joint albums, as well as duets, but their respective acting paths have never crossed. Now, they’ve been cast as leads alongside Sam Elliott in a new Paramount Plus series, “1883,” MTV Entertainment Studios’ official prequel to “Yellowstone,” the drama that’s aired on the Paramount Network since 2018.
“1883” was created by Taylor Sheridan and will come to Paramount’s new streaming service from production partners 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch Productions. The series is expected to begin filming this year.
The prequel will follow the Dutton family’s journey west through the Great Plains and is described as a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana.”
“This is truly a dream job,” said McGraw in a statement. “Taylor has found a way of storytelling that brilliantly creates these epic dramas and family sagas with so much depth and creativity. The Duttons are tremendous characters and it’s so thrilling to be able to bring them to life. As a kid growing up riding horses, you think about dream jobs like this and I am just so excited to work with this amazing cast and crew.”
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” added Hill. “The Duttons are a formidable family and it is an absolute dream to bring such a strong female character like Margaret Dutton to life. I am humbled and honored to work with Taylor and his entire team.”
McGraw and Hill will play James and Margaret Dutton, the Dutton family’s patriarch and matriarch, with Elliott cast as Shea Brennan, a tough cowboy with some underlying melancholy to be revealed as he guides the emigrants from Texas to Montana.
“It all starts with the writing, and Taylor Sheridan is a brilliant writer,” said Elliott. “I think the western genre speaks clearly to both of us. The classic struggles of man against man, man against nature, and man against himself. It’s all there, in ‘1883,’ and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Chris McCarthy, president/CEO of MTV Entertainment Group, said: “‘Yellowstone’ is a massive hit show with tens of millions of fans. With ‘1883,’ we are taking those fans back to the origin story, and in the process, turning the ‘Yellowstone’ world into a global hit franchise to fuel the growth of Paramount Plus. We are thrilled to have Sam, Tim and Faith as the stars of Taylor Sheridan’s new series exclusively for Paramount+ around the world.”
“1883” will have Sheridan, John Linson, Art Linson, David Glasser, Ron Burkle and Bob Yari as executive producers.
(Pictured: Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott)
