Paramount+ may not be the top streaming service around, but that’s not stopping it from taking big swings to get there.
The service, which features all the episodes of popular reality series Survivor as well as every episode of Ink Master, dropped a trailer for its original show Y: 1883, a prequel to the hit show Yellowstone.
The show is set before the Dutton family reaches the West, as they embark on a wagon trail to get there and the obstacles they have to overcome on the way. Sam Elliott plays Shea Brennan, a weathered cowboy with a mysterious past that’s tasked with guiding the train.
It also stars country superstars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw as the heads of the Dutton family. LaMonica Garrett, Isabel May, and Oscar Winner Billy Bob Thornton are also in the cast.
“It all starts with the writing, and Taylor Sheridan is a brilliant writer,” Elliott said. “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 and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group, seems to expect pretty great things from the show.
“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+,” McCarthy said. “We are thrilled to have Sam, Tim and Faith as the stars of Taylor Sheridan’s new series exclusively for Paramount+ around the world.”
The trailer looks gritty and dramatic, with plenty of harrowing shots, including Mcgraw with a gun looking exhausted and Hill screaming and running from a cabin fire.
McGraw said getting the role was a “dream job.”
“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,” he said.
Hill echoed those feelings.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Hill said. “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.”
We can’t wait to see 1883 when it comes out! Until then, season 4 of Yellowstone has fans massively invested right now.