About the most unexpected thing in my life in the last year has been becoming a card-calling member of the “Yellowstone” hive, Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount Network TV series (the Oscar-nominated writer of “Hell or High Water“). “Yellowstone” is one of the most popular and most-watched shows on television, but it doesn’t get a lot of coverage because, well, it’s mostly watched by middle America and Red State viewers; the media isn’t so into it. It certainly didn’t seem like must-watch TV on the surface, But, as a show that’s essentially “The Godfather” set in Montana—crime, family, the no-going-back morass of morality that happens when you cross lines you cannot cross, and MidWest ranchers—I’ve found myself absolutely hooked on the show (it can be bafflingly soap-opera-ish, ridiculous and melodramatic, but it’s always rooted in humanist drama stuff about family that checks all my boxes).
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Sheridan has become such a force on the Paramount Network, they’ve given him carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wants. That means two new series on the way, “The Mayor Of Kingstown,” another look at crime and family, this time set in the industrial prison complex in Michigan, starring Jeremy Renner, and “1883,” a “Yellowstone” spin-off and prequel series.
Of course, “Yellowstone” centers on John Dutton (Kevin Costner), the patriarch and don of the Yellowstone ranch and Dutton family empire, and “1883,” launching December 19 on Paramount+, is a look at his origins of the dysfunctional Dutton family. According to EW in a recent profile on the show, “1883” centers on Margaret and James Dutton, determined pioneers who wrangle their young son, teenage daughter, and a sizable herd of longhorn cattle to make the arduous trek from Texas to Montana.
The series stars Sam Elliott (as Shea Brennan), Tim McGraw (as James Dutton), Faith Hill (as Margaret Dutton), Isabel May (as Elsa Dutton), LaMonica Garrett (as Thomas) and Audie Rick as the young boy. Here’s the official synopsis:
James and Margaret Dutton embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America as they are fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana. Shea Brennan has the herculean task of guiding the group from Texas to Montana, and he does not suffer fools.
Billy Bob Thornton guest stars as U.S. Marshal Jim Courtright. It’s going to be a massively strong late fall for Sheridan. “Yellowstone” season four premieres tonight—the “1883” trailer premiered during the show—“Mayor of Kingstown” debuts on November 14, and then “1883” hits 1883. If you’re into his watchable, engrossingly rugged shows about men, their families, and the various costs incurred to hold onto power and what’s theirs, “1883” should probably do the trick. Watch the first trailer below as well as some first look images.
