The cast of Yellowstone's upcoming prequel spinoff from Taylor Sheridan just keeps on growing, as 1883 has added an actress to play John Dutton's grandmother as well as a familiar face from the Arrowverse to play an intriguing role. Isabel May of Young Sheldon fame and LaMonica Garrett of The CW's superhero series are on board 1883 coming to Paramount+, and here's what we know so far.
Isabel May has been cast to play the oldest daughter of John and Margaret Dutton, and therefore the grandmother of Kevin Costner's John Dutton on Yellowstone. Her character, named Elsa, will provide the perspective of the Dutton family as part of a wagon train caravan leaving their home in Texas for a new life in Montana. This will take them through some perilous territory, but at least one thing is guaranteed: Elsa is going to survive at least long enough to have kids!
As Elsa Dutton, Isabel May will play the daughter of characters played by real-life married couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and she honestly could pass as their child, so it should be fun to see the three stars playing one family unit in what is bound to be a hit series, if it garners even a comparable level of success as Yellowstone. Kevin Costner had a warm welcome for McGraw and Hill after their castings were announced; perhaps he'll do the same for the actress playing his character's grandmother.
LaMonica Garrett, possibly best known on the small screen for his pivotal Arrowverse roles as The Monitor and The Anti-Monitor in the massive "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event, is on board for a very different kind of character. Garrett plays a Pinkerton agent by the name of Thomas, who is the right-hand man to Shea Brennan, played by none other than Sam Elliott. Garrett's character joins the wagon train that also includes the Duttons. Garrett will be a long way from The CW's multiverse for his next venture in a shared TV universe!
In a fun twist, 1883 won't mark the first time that LaMonica Garrett has worked on the same project as Yellowstone creator and 1883 writer and director Taylor Sheridan, as both appeared in a number of episodes of FX's Sons of Anarchy, although their characters never overlapped to share scenes. And there definitely won't be any motorcycle gangs appearing in 1883.
That said, the scale of 1883 is going to be something to behold. Production has officially started on the Yellowstone prequel in Fort Worth, Texas, and Deadline reports that there were 30 actual wagons built for the wagon train that will be central to the show. The budget for 1883 reportedly is higher than its parent series, which may seem surprising at first glance considering Yellowstone's considerable and proven success, but Yellowstone also isn't tasked with recreating an era gone by and a wagon train.
Shared universes have proved to be big hits on the small screen, and in fact both Isabel May and LaMonica Garrett have experience with them. May's appearances in Young Sheldon places her in the same TV universe as The Big Bang Theory, while Garrett's appearances in the Arrowverse mean that The Monitor had an impact on Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, Superman & Lois, soon Stargirl, and any other shows that join that universe.
The only bad news about 1883 at this point is that the beginning of production means that the Paramount+ premiere is bound to be a long ways off, but at least the fourth season of Yellowstone is coming before the end of the year. In fact, Season 4 will kick off with a two-episode premiere on Sunday, November 7 on Paramount. While that's not exactly in a week or two, confirmation that Yellowstone will return to deliver on its killer Season 3 finale cliffhangers before 2022 is nevertheless good to know.
