‘1883’ Star LaMonica Garrett Teases ‘Yellowstone’ Spinoffs ‘Bass Reeves Story’ and ‘1923’ (Exclusive)

LaMonica Garrett couldn’t wait to dig his heels into his character in 1883. Starring as Thomas, he’s the only Black cowboy on the journey. Garrett is a lifelong fan of Westerns, and his character is a former buffalo soldier who serves as the right hand to wagon master Shea (Sam Elliott) and is the only Black person along for the ride. 1883 is a prequel to Yellowstone. It chronicles the story of how the Duttons came to own the land that would become the Yellowstone Ranch. The next series in the franchise will focus on Bass Reeves, a U.S. law enforcement official who is historically lauded as the first black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River. Reeves primarily worked in Arkansas and the Oklahoma Territory. Garrett admits however that he’s sad 1883 is complete. 

“Well, 1883, that’s pretty much it for us. The new season, the 1923, the cast is stellar. Big announcements, I can’t wait. I don’t know what the scripts look like, but I trust Taylor, his vision,” he told us in a recent interview. “As the actor, you’re like, “Oh, 1883 isn’t moving forward,” but it’s going to be interesting to take a look in at this time period for a season or two or however long they go, and in the 1920s, and that’s going to be something special I think.”

Despite being disappointed about his show being over, Garrett enjoyed working on set alongside heavy hitters in the project, such as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Billy Bob Thorton. He says the cast were united in every way due to the amount of time they spent together. “We were away from our families, we were away from our homes. It was just us,” he recalled. “So we all built this tight-knit bond together, and it rolled right into filming, from the last day of cowboy camp to the first day of filming. And from that point on, for the next four or five months, we were all we saw. We would have lunch together, we would have dinner together.” 

He says the upcoming story is what he’s looking forward to audiences seeing the most. “And Bass Reeves, telling that story is a story that needs to be told. And I spoke with David Oyelowo not too long ago, and he’s excited to bring Bass Reeves to life, and that’s going to be something special to watch I think for everyone,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know who Bass Reeves is, but he was an American legend, not just a Black cowboy legend, but an American legend. And yeah, we’re all going to be familiar not too long from now.”