Yellowstone’s prequel 1883 follows the Dutton family and retells Western expansion as they flee in search of a better future in Montana. “I can’t wait,” commented LaMonica Garrett on 1883's Blu-ray and DVD release. Garrett plays Thomas in the series, the right-hand man of Shea Brennan. “We shot a handful of stuff that didn’t make the final edits. So, if even a fraction of that is in the bonus footage, it would be like watching it all over again. I think the fans are really going to have something to cheer for when they see it.”
Alongside Garrett in the cast of 1883 are Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Isabel May, Marc Rissmann, Audie Rick, Billy Bob Thornton, and more. The series was created by Taylor Sheridan, also known for other major projects like Hell or High Water and Sicario.
A Series by Taylor Sheridan
“Working with Taylor Sheridan,” replied Garrett when asked what it was that attracted him to the series. “I saw Hell or High Water and the script was amazing… the things that he has touched, you want to be a part of that storytelling… he told such an authentic story with 1883 in such an iconic role for me… It was something that we haven’t seen before in Westerns and television. It was one of those projects where you’d be a fool to turn it down.”
“Taylor lets you do you,” he continued, “he sees the work that you put into it… there are some directors that put their fingerprint on it for the sake of doing it. Taylor’s not one of them. He lets it breathe… a lot of what I love about 1883 was, I think there’s more to be said in quiet, silent moments than there is with a bunch of back and forth dialogue. Just nature breathing, and you’re hearing birds, you’re hearing crickets, and you’re seeing two grown men sitting on a lawn together drinking coffee at the crack of dawn… and we’re just sitting there saying so much more about their relationship and their history that you don’t need to have this back and forth for… Taylor lets that breathe and happen. That’s the environment he created.”
Another element of 1883 is a different perspective to the Western genre, something that Garrett commented he hopes for viewers to take away from watching the series. “A lot of Westerns we saw growing up, we saw one perspective through one set of goggles, and pretty much didn’t really see a whole lot of else. The Native Americans in the show and the way they’re portrayed, seeing it through their lenses is unique. A young teenage coming of age woman, we haven’t really seen that in Westerns… seeing the story from the immigrants, and they helped build this country as well. And personally, for Black cowboys, and the role they played in building up the American West… it’s a Dutton family story that Yellowstone created, but it’s told in a way where you get to see it through the lenses of people that you didn’t necessarily see it from before. And I think that’s what’s special about this Western as someone who would say that this isn’t your grandfather’s Western.”
The Stellar Cast of 1883
As for the stacked cast that can be seen in 1883, Garrett commented that it was like “acting class 101,” and that there was a lot of camaraderie that took place during filming, which continues to this day.
“There was a scene with Billy Bob when we went inside the White Elephant where he handled justice the way that the marshal would handle justice. Watching him navigate the room, each take was different… some of the different takes that Billy Bob did were amazing and unique… This was one of those shows where if you finished your scene at like two in the afternoon, and you knew Sam or Tim or Faith had a big scene coming up in the evening at 10, you’d go back to the ranch… go relax and read and do whatever… then drive back to set to see their work and to see how they navigate this scene. And Sam would do the same. Say a scene at midnight, you look over, Sam has been off since 9 pm, he’s right there sitting on an apple box watching us work. It was just one of those environments where we all enjoyed the process and watching each other bring this stuff to life,” said Garrett.
He continued, commenting that they’re “all family from this point on. You build a bond with your classmates… and this show takes that to another level… We were all living in these remote parts of the country, we’re off the grid, no cell phone service, there’s no cable TV… all you have is each other… it was one of those family building experiences and from even when we finished filming, we’ve all been getting together frequently.”
The Blu-ray and DVD sets for 1883 include every episode in the series, behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew, and the additional featurettes listed below:
- A Land of Peril & Wonder: The Journey of 1883
- From Cast to Cowboys: Creating the Pioneer Spirit
- 1883: The Road West
- Inside 1883
- Behind the Story for each episode