If you are a fan of Yellowstone and/or 1883, you are going to love the story behind how Taylor Sheridan pitched the show to Tim McGraw.
For those at home who haven’t heard, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are currently starring in 1883 — Yellowstone’s prequel spinoff that takes place in the 1880s. But before he could star in the spinoff, creator Taylor Sheridan wanted McGraw to do a cameo in the original series. The country star explained as much in a recent episode of the Official Yellowstone Podcast.
“You know Taylor and the energy that he brings to everything he does,” McGraw said. “So, right of the bat, he’s like, ‘Hey, Tim! It’s Taylor, a big fan. Do you watch Yellowstone?'”
It only makes sense that Tim McGraw, a cowboy at heart, was a big Yellowstone fan.
“I go, ‘Yeah, I’m a huge fan.’ And he goes, ‘I want you to be on the show. Would you make a cameo on our show?'”
“Of course, right off the bat, my instinct is like, ‘Yeah, of course, I will’,” McGraw continued. “But I don’t wanna be some singing cowboy that comes to the Bunkhouse and gets taken to the train station at the end of the episode. Give me something cool to do and I’ll be glad to do it.”
McGraw remembers Sheridan saying, “I have an idea, but give me a week.”
‘Yellowstone’ and ‘1883’ Creator Is True to His Word
Sure enough, Taylor Sheridan held true to his word. He called a week later. Tim McGraw admitted on the podcast that he didn’t think he was going to hear back from him.
“A week later he calls and says, ‘This is the idea: You’re gonna do a flashback. You’re gonna be the original Dutton that discovered Yellowstone and it’s gonna be in the 1880s.'”
Do you think that sounded good enough for the country star? You better believe it did.
“I’m in,” McGraw told Sheridan.
But the Yellowstone and 1883 creator still had one more question for everyone’s favorite country star. He needed to know if McGraw could ride a horse. If you’ve seen the first four seasons of Yellowstone or the first four episodes of 1883, you’d know that being able to ride a horse is somewhat of a must.
“Then he said, ‘Can you ride?’ And I said, ‘Yeah I can ride. I grew up ridin’.”
That’s all Sheridan needed to hear. He gave McGraw the dates to show up and they both got to work.
We’re certainly glad that Taylor Sheridan offered the role of James Dutton to Tim McGraw. And not only that, but we’re happy that McGraw took him up on that offer.
