Why 1883 Is The Hottest Show To Check Out

I have spoken about it on this Blog before, but Taylor Sheridan’s fantastic show ‘Yellowstone’ is just incredible. It is a huge feat in writing and directing, whilst also boasting great characters. I, along with many fans, were anticipating the release of the new prequel show ‘1883’, which follows the Dutton family on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of uncolonised America. The show stars Sam Elliott as Shea Brennan, Tim McGraw as James Dutton (John Dutton’s grandfather) and Faith Hill as Margaret Dutton. The all-star cast, awesome premise and beautiful direction culminated for an epic season of television. Today, I am going to tell you just why ‘1883’ is the hottest new show currently airing.

The story – like all stories, we want to know how it all began. In the case of Yellowstone, how the Dutton family became the wealthy and powerful people we know. The story is genius, following the events leading up to the start of the show. It puts us roughly 125 years in the past, following John Dutton’s (played by Kevin Costner in Yellowstone) Grandparents James and Margaret. This leap backward in time, is handled with care, paying respect to ‘Yellowstone’, whilst also telling its own story. Showrunner Taylor Sheridan has a knack for this type of storytelling, bringing forth the themes of wealth, power and family, culminating in gripping and unforgettable television.

The cast – I mentioned the star-studded cast briefly, but following the incredible cast of Yellowstone is no easy feat and 1883, whilst I am not saying it is better cast than Yellowstone, is certainly easily on par. Tim McGraw has transitioned from the musical industry into the Hollywood acting machine seamlessly. He has built an impressive resume for himself with film credits including ‘Tomorrowland’, the family cult-classic ‘Flicka’ and ‘The Blind Side’, not to mention a hilarious turn in the holiday Christmas classic ‘Four Christmases’ as one of Vince Vaughn’s brothers. This is easily the best he has ever been, playing a ruthless businessman, but at the end of the day, also a family man that will stop at nothing to protect his kin. McGraw’s real life spouse, Faith Hill also joins him as his on-screen spouse Margaret. Being unfamiliar with Hill’s acting ability, I was pleasantly surprised with how genuine and good she was. One of the stand outs of the show however is Sam Elliott’s Shea Brennan, the aging and at times ruthless cowboy, is one of the best characters in Yellowstone’s universe. There are a lot of complexities to his character, with a softer side shown throughout as well as his ruthlessness. I really enjoy Elliott’s performance, with him once again, after ‘A Star Is Born’, showing that he has still got it.

The setting and locations – One of the highlights of the show is the amazing setting and the filming locations used. Yellowstone also boasted amazing sets and filming locations, but I have been impressed with just how good 1883 looks. From the glorious set recreations from Yellowstone, given an updated aesthetic to the stark and sometimes baron Western aesthetic of the time period, the show just knows how to capture these gorgeous locations on film, with the location acting almost as a character in the broader scope of the show's universe. I just adore how the show looks and think that this old-timey aesthetic is one of the main reasons audiences just keep coming back.

‘1882’ is incredible and I can’t wait to see what the second season has installed for audiences, with production now well underway and Season 2 headed to screen later in 2022. Be sure to register with Sanity so you can pre-order ‘1883’ when it hits Blu-ray and DVD later in 2022 as well.

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here