Yellowstone prequel 1883 adds three cast members — including the awesome Sam Elliott

Yellowstone prequel 1883 casting news: Sam Elliott, Faith Hill
(Image credit: Gregg DeGuire/Michael Loccisano/Getty)

Update: The Yellowstone prequel 1883 starts very soon, so check out out full guide to how to watch 1883 online to make sure you don't miss a minute.

The Yellowstone prequel is saddling up its first cast members. Sam Elliott, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are joining Yellowstone: 1883, the spinoff of the hit Western drama on Paramount Network.

The flagship series is set in the modern day on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, run by sixth-generation patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner). It's the biggest contiguous ranch in the United States and still frontier country, where ranchers, local Native American tribe members and business interests collides. Yellowstone season 4 will premiere this fall.

The Yellowstone prequel, also created by Taylor Sheridan, is a stark retelling of Western expansion. It's set in1883, when the Dutton family embarks on a journey west to seek a better future in America's untamed promised land. 

Married country singers McGraw and Hill are portraying James and Margaret Dutton, the respective patriarch and matriarch of the family. Elliott, an Oscar nominee for A Star Is Born, plays Shea Brennan, a tough-as-nails cowboy with immense sadness in his past.

Hill, who has previously appeared in movies like The Stepford Wives, shared the news of her casting on Instagram. "Just wait, you have never seen anything like this!" she wrote in the caption.

McGraw (Country Strong, Tomorrowland) chimed in with his own Instagram video, expressing that he's "so excited I can finally share this."

In a statement, Elliott said, "It all starts with the writing, and Taylor Sheridan is a brilliant writer. I think the western genre speaks clearly to both of us. The classic struggles of man against man, man against nature and man against himself. It's all there, in 1883, and I'm honored to be a part of it."

More casting news is expected to follow.

Yellowstone: 1883 is just one of two spinoffs of the original series. The other is 6666, which focuses on the Four Sixes Ranch in western Texas.

Kelly Woo
Streaming Editor

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.