Following the incredible popularity of Taylor Sheridan's modern Western series Yellowstone, Paramount+ is premiering a prequel series called 1883 on December 19. The highly anticipated new show follows the Dutton family a few generations back, before they became the owners of the country's largest ranch. In fact, the first episode finds them beginning the Oregon Trail and facing the many dangers that lie between them and their dream of a new home.
Yellowstone has become known for its intricate exploration of the personal and political conflicts that surround the Dutton land, and 1883 aims to do the same but with post-Civil War tensions and dynamics added into the mix. Patriarch James (Tim McGraw, The Blind Side) has made it his mission to make a better future for his family by traveling out West, and he is aided by two Pinkerton agents who are heading up the trail: Shea (Oscar nominee Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born) and Thomas (LaMonica Garrett, Arrow).
Garrett spoke to Screen Rant about the refreshing role of his character in the series, as well as the brotherhood he formed on set with costar Sam Elliott.
I find the dynamic between Thomas and Shea really fascinating, especially given the time period and the journey that they are going on. Can you discuss working with Sam Elliott and what that dynamic is like?
LaMonica Garrett: When I first met Sam, it was at the saloon on the ranch we were staying at, in our little COVID bubble. He spotted me across the room, he came over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. He looked at me with those eyes, his gaze, and he was like, "We're gonna have a great time working on this together." He gave me a hug, and that just set the tone for what the rest of the relationship was going to be.
He's amazing to work with. He's kind, he's generous, and he loves the process of filmmaking. He never goes back to the trailer in between scenes and turning cameras around, he just sits on his apple box in the dirt and looks at everyone around and just talks and engages with everyone. It's been fun working with him; we're still working, and it's been a great experience.
And that chemistry that we built before the cameras started rolling spilled right over into their relationship. Thomas and Shea served in the war together. Shea was Thomas' captain in the Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers. And when the war was over, the responsibilities changed for what the Buffalo Soldiers were doing, and they didn't sign up for that.
So, they left and became Pinkerton agents, and they've been brothers since - the right hand knows what the left is doing. They could sit at a campfire for an hour and not say a word, but it'll say everything about who they are. They're comfortable together, and they're protective over each other. It's like an 1800s bromance.
Speaking of the Civil War, which is so recent in the past of this series, how do the racial tensions on that front come into play for Thomas? Not to mention that on this journey there's also Romani travelers and all different sets of people that don't get along with each other.
LaMonica Garrett: I love how Taylor wrote these characters. Not a lot is said throughout the series about Thomas' race, about slavery, or about where he comes from. Thomas brings it up in conversations between him and Shea that come up here and there, and conversations that he has with other characters like Noemi [played by Gratiela Brancusi]. But they're not leaning into it.
I love that. He's just a person, and they were just people back then. These stories need to be told about black cowboys - they were cowboys that happened to be black. They had lives, they had families they had. When they're coming and leaving, or exiting the screen, where are they coming from and where are they going? Who are they going to talk to? We really focused on Thomas and Shea and their relationship, and other stuff will come as it comes out.
The gypsies and the Romani people had a voice, and now you're seeing it through their lens when you didn't get to see that in television shows of this genre in the past. You're seeing things through Thomas' lens as well. We're not recreating the wheel here with the Western, but you're just seeing it from different points of view. And it's great how Taylor wrote that.
Westerns have always been a staple of American cinema, but I feel like Taylor Sheridan really hits on something that speaks to many more people who may not otherwise watch them.
LaMonica Garrett: You could see yourself in some of these people. As a kid, if I see Thomas in a western, while watching westerns with my parents? I'm like, "That's me! That's us. We can do that. We were around back then; we weren't written out." And it means something. That representation means something, especially when it's been absent for so long.
1883 premieres Sunday, December 19 at 9 pm ET exclusively on Paramount+.