Yellowstone 1883 Star Tim McGraw On How He Knew There Would Be No Season 2

Tim McGraw and his real-life wife, Faith Hill starred in the Yellowstone prequel, 1883 as James and Margaret Dutton. It was their family tree that grew into Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in the modern Western drama, Yellowstone. However, despite that, they had no inside information about what Taylor Sheridan was planning to get there. However, there is one thing McGraw knew before the bosses at Paramount.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in Yellowstone prequel 1883

For those who have yet to watch 1883, the following contains spoilers. The prequel formed Yellowstone’s origin story and told the tale of James Dutton and his family as they traveled from Texas to Oregon. There’s no denying that season 1 was brutal and Taylor Sheridan told Deadline that Paramount executives were not aware of the scope of the tragedy until 1883 finished filming.

In fact, President Bob Bakish reportedly told him, “There better be a f***ing Season 2 because we already picked it up.”

Speaking of his expectations for the prequel series, McGraw said, “We pretty much knew it was going to be one season, adding, “There’s only so much you can do on a wagon train [laughs].”

What happened to James and Margaret Dutton?

By the end of season 1, it was clear that James and Margaret Dutton had survived 1883. However, during a flashback sequence in Yellowstone season 4, viewers saw James get shot and heard Margaret screaming. Meanwhile, the cameo scene was shot before McGraw committed to the role full time. However, it did inform his preparation for the role.

Tim said he “sorta [sic] knew how James was gonna [sic] end by the flashback.” However, he added that they didn’t know how Margaret was going to die, until the prequel 1923 came out. He said:

We didn’t get any scripts or anything before 1923 [to read], so we had no idea what was going on until we saw the first episode. It was interesting to find that out.

Obviously, with the cameo flashback, there is no way Paramount Network could film 1883 season Margaret Dutton’s death is not seen. Meanwhile, during narration at the start of 1923, her on-screen daughter Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) explained that her mother froze to death a year after James was killed.

However, it looks like fans will have better news with the second prequel, 1923, as it is likely to be available on Paramount+ in late 2023, or early 2024. Of course, that prequel famously starred Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton and fans are longing to see the couple again.