Billy Bob Thornton, Sam Elliott + Tim McGraw Share the Screen on ‘1883’ [Exclusive Premiere]
1883 premieres on the Paramount Network on Sunday night (Dec. 19), and the show features a cast of heavy hitters. Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott star in the much-anticipated show, and one of the very earliest episodes features a guest appearance from Billy Bob Thornton. Taste of Country readers get to see his earliest scene on the show before anyone else in an exclusive first look.
1883 is a prequel to Yellowstone in which McGraw and Hill star as James and Margaret Dutton, the great-grandparents of Yellowstone patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner). The show follows their family's journey West from Texas to Montana, where they will eventually establish the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch that serves as the setting for the runaway hit show.
Elliott portrays the character of Shea Brennan, a Pinkerton agent who is traveling with the family as part of a large wagon train of people in search of a better life. When the wagon train is attacked by bandits who kill some of the travelers in Episode 2, Dutton, Brennan, Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) and more travel to nearby Forth Worth, where they believe the bandits have taken refuge.
They consult the local lawman, Marshal Jim Courtright, played by Thornton. Courtright is a real historical character, and history tells that he was a fast gun who became a crooked lawman, a position he used to extort protection money from local businesses. But that entailed that he enforce the laws, and he did, reportedly cutting the crime rate in half in Fort Worth during his tenure.
In the exclusive scene below, we see Thornton in character as Courtright for the first time, sitting behind his desk as he tells Dutton that he'll have to be deputized to take part in what lies ahead and not end up at the end of a rope. His true attitude toward the law comes across in the offhanded way he deputizes Dutton, while he completely dismisses the concerns of another character that he clearly does not see as an equal.
The scene leads into a climactic scene that fans have already seen a glimpse of in the trailer for 1883, in which Courtright delivers some rough justice.
1883 airs every Sunday via Paramount+. The first two episodes are already available via the app. The first episode premieres after Yellowstone on Paramount Network on Sunday night (Dec. 19), while the second episode will air on Paramount next Sunday (Dec. 26) after Yellowstone before the show moves to its streaming-only permanent format.
Stay tuned to Taste of Country as we provide week-to-week coverage of both Yellowstone and 1883, including episode analysis, news on the shows, cast interviews and more. As part of our comprehensive coverage, check out the Dutton Rules podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Subscribe to the Paramount+ streaming service to make sure you don't miss out on future episodes of 1883.