Taylor Sheridan reveals how a funny meeting with Paramount executives regarding Yellowstone prequel 1883 ended chances for season 2 of the acclaimed show. 1883 was released on Paramount+ in December of last year, serving as a prequel story as to how the Dutton family came to own their Montana ranch. The series, which was a hit with audiences and critics alike, follows James (Tim McGraw), Margaret (Faith Hill), and Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), who embark on a journey across America with gruff Pinkerton agent Shea Brennan (Sam Elliot). It was originally announced that 1883 would return for a season 2, but instead, 1923 was born, which chronicles a new generation of Duttons, including Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara (Helen Mirren).

1883's ending is fairly definitive and leaves little room for the continuation of that particular story, but it was announced not long after the finale that the series would return for season 2. In a recent interview with Deadline, Sheridan recalls having to explain to Paramount that he didn't intend to continue the show because, as he puts it, by the end of 1883, "everyone is dead." Check out Sheridan's full comment below:

“I know they read the scripts, but they don’t read scripts, so when they read the last episode of 1883, I don’t think they digested what had just happened, even though I made it quite clear from the very beginning. The story I heard is [Paramount Global President] Bob Bakish watched it and said, ‘wait a minute, she dies! They all die? What do we do in season two?’ I said, there is no season two. They’re like, there better be a fu*king season two because we already picked it up. I’m sitting here going, guys everyone is dead.

“They wanted to have a meeting about how Sam Elliott survived his suicide. By the very nature of the term it’s not something survivable, and who would want to see that? So, I said I’ll come up with another peek into the window and I sat there and tried to look at it.”

Related: Complete Yellowstone Timeline (Including 1883 & 1923)

Why 1883 Season 2 Not Happening Is A Good Thing

James Dutton holds Elsa as she dies in 1883's finale.

1883 is about one family's journey West across the dangerous and unforgiving, but breathtakingly beautiful, American frontier. The journey sees Elsa evolve from a sheltered child to essentially becoming a full-blown female cowboy and a real woman. Throughout their travels in 1883, Elsa defends her wagon from an attack but sustains a fatal arrow wound in the process. The series ends with James ensuring that Elsa makes it to their patch of land in Montana where she eventually succumbs to her wounds. As the heart of the show and essentially the main character, Elsa's death serves as a perfect endpoint, with James and Margaret choosing to build their new home on the land where May's character dies.

Although Elsa's death, in itself, is a strong enough reason to not continue the story, a number of other characters also have very fitting ends. Elliot's Shea, for example, accomplishes his mission of getting a group of German and Slavic immigrants across the country. After accomplishing this monumental task, however, Shea ultimately opts to kill himself in the 1883 finale rather than live without his family, who died of smallpox just before the story begins. Even Thomas (LaMonica Garrett), a supporting character, has a satisfying ending, with the Pinkerton agent settling down with one of the German immigrants and actually getting one of the show's most heartwarming conclusions.

Many fans would surely be happy if Sheridan opted to continue the story of 1883 in some way with the surviving characters, but it may have ended up feeling unnecessary and tacked on. It also likely wouldn't have gone over well if Elliot's character somehow survived his self-inflicted gunshot to the head, which would have undermined his powerful and tragic character arc. While 1883 may not be returning, the prequel world of Yellowstone lives on in 1923, which continues the captivating, violent, and occasionally very sad story of the Dutton family.

More: 1883 Season 1 Ending Explained & Future Yellowstone Shows Setup

Source: Deadline