1883

1883 follows James and Margaret Dutton as they take their family west with a wagon train. Taylor Sheridan turns the journey itself into the drama: rivers, weather and exhaustion are as consequential as the dangerous people along the route.

Isabel May gives the series its perspective as Elsa Dutton. Her excitement about the wider world sits beside her parents' much more practical concerns. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill make that family life convincing, while Sam Elliott and LaMonica Garrett bring experience and an excellent, understated partnership to the wagon train's guides.

I've watched the complete ten-episode series and recommend it highly. It is a beautiful, harsh and emotionally involving Western, with enough attention to everyday work that the journey feels like time spent with these people. The deliberate pace is part of its appeal.

It stands on its own without prior knowledge of Yellowstone. 1923 is the natural next step, moving forward to another generation's struggle to keep the family's home. Both prequels are worthy of the Yellowstone name.

Read the full 1883 review.