While Taylor Sheridan may have mapped out three generations of the Dutton family tree of his own volition, it wasn’t necessarily easy for him to do. In 2021, the creator of “Yellowstone” was already in full swing telling the story of the present generation of Duttons when ViacomCBS pressed him to get the wagon wheels turning on the prequel series “1883.” Though some might not deem it Sheridan’s best TV show so far, there’s no doubt that it was one of his most demanding to make, particularly given that he was tasked with getting the introductory chapter to the Duttons’ legacy written, shot, and ready for Paramount’s streaming service within the span of seven months.
As Deadline revealed in 2021, when Sheridan premiered the first two episodes of “1883,” the writer, producer, and actor who dictated the Duttons’ history had gotten into an intense conversation with ViacomCBS exec Keyes Hill-Edgar back when he was still working on the pilot. “The studio read it April 12, and I was flying out May 2 to go film another TV show in another country,” Sheridan recalled. “Keyes calls and says, ‘We can hang our hat on this, launch our streaming service with it.’ I say, ‘That’s great.’ He says, ‘We need it this year.’ I said, ‘Keyes, that’s not possible, I can start production in February, maybe.’ He said, ‘No, Taylor, we need it to air this year.’” Other TV creatives might’ve buckled under the pressure, but instead, Sheridan dared to shoot his shot and made “1883” just how he wanted despite the time crunch.
Taylor Sheridan asked for a lot of trust in making 1883
Spin-offs are temperamental creatures. Coming off a surefire hit with potentially no familiar faces helping them along makes them a risk — something Sheridan and Paramount were all too aware of while developing “1883.” Thankfully, however, the overseer of the “Yellowstone” universe knew just how to tame this particular spin-off. He just needed a few key elements to do so.
During the show’s premiere and with its youngest star, Audie Rick, present, Sheridan was kind enough to explain how his chat with Hill-Edgar about the future of the Duttons’ past went down from his side of things. “Look, we are betting the house on this, and we are trucked if you don’t do it,” Sheridan recalled the exec telling him (being careful to avoid any F-bombs in the process). “We’re paying you a lot of trucking money, so you trucking figure it out!’”
From there, the “1883” creative took a risk and laid out all the issues he’d need to avoid along the way. “It was impossible to have something air in seven months that wasn’t cast, with no locations and no other scripts,” Sheridan confessed. “I said, ‘This first episode I’ve written is the best thing I’ve ever written. If I can’t have the time to make it right, I need everything else. I need the toys, I need the cast, I need the team. You will need to trust me, and it’s going to hurt.’ And I did not hear the word ‘no,’ at all,” From there, Sheridan roamed free across one of the harshest chapters in Dutton lore, and it was absolutely worth it.
