‘Yellowstone’: Tim McGraw Calls ‘1883’ Prequel Role His ‘Dream Job’

Country star Tim McGraw will test his acting chops in 1883, the Yellowstone prequel series coming to Paramount+ soon. He will star as James Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton family, alongside his real-life wife, fellow country icon Faith Hill, who will star as Margaret Dutton. The series will also star Sam Elliott, a must-have actor for any Western in 2021. The series was created by Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan.

“This is truly a dream job,” McGraw said in a statement on Wednesday. “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.”

Hill was also excited to star in the series, calling it the “opportunity of a lifetime.” She called it an “absolute dream” to bring a “strong female character like Margaret Dutton to life,” adding, “I am humbled and honored to work with Taylor and his entire team.” This will be Hill’s first acting role since she starred in the 2017 movie Dixieland. She also appeared in 2004’s The Stepford Wives remake and a Touched by an Angel episode in 1997.

McGraw has more acting experience than Hill, whom he married in 1996. He starred in the films Black Cloud, Flicka, The Blind Side, Country Strong, Tomorrowland, and The Shack. 1883 will be his first lead role in a television series.

1883 is a prequel to Yellowstone, tracking the Dutton family’s journey across the Great Plains to Montana, where they will establish the massive ranch at the heart of the drama in Yellowstone. Elliott was cast as Shea Brennan, a cowboy with a tragic past who guides a group from Texas to Montana. Elliott starred in Netflix’s The Ranch and has a role in Peacock’s upcoming MacGruber series. After over five decades in movies and television, Elliott finally earned his first Oscar nomination for A Star Is Born in 2019.

“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+,” Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, MTV Entertainment Group, added in a statement. “We are thrilled to have Sam, Tim, and Faith as the stars of Taylor Sheridan’s new series exclusively for Paramount+ around the world.”

Yellowstone was created by Sheridan and John Linson. The show debuted in June 2018 and stars Kevin Costner as John Dutton, the sixth-generation patriarch of the Dutton family. The show’s fourth season is expected to debut on the Paramount Network later this year. Ironically, while 1883 will be on Paramount+, Yellowstone is only available to stream on NBCUniversal’s Peacock. This is due to a licensing deal ViacomCBS struck with NBCUniversal in January 2020.