Hollywood in Cowtown

Taylor Sheridan reveals surprising fate of hit North Texas-filmed series 1883

The cast of 1883 will not be coming back to North Texas for an encore shoot. Series creator Taylor Sheridan has confirmed that the 10-episode Yellowstone prequel is not getting a second season — or at least he's strongly hinting at it.

In an interview February 28, the day after the 1883 finale, Deadline asked Sheridan if he was finished with the saga. Short of saying a hard "yes," he replied, "I created this peek through time to show you this one specific journey. I’m not someone who likes to tie everything up in a bow and explain how everyone lived happily after, or didn’t. I’d rather you imagine it ... "

He added, "We wanted to make a 10-hour movie that ended, and that’s what we did."

Sheridan said he's moving on to the next "window," another prequel series called 1932. He told Deadline that this chapter in the Dutton family drama would be a "peek through a different window into a different era. Again, I don’t think of any of these as spinoffs, but rather as complete stories that have common roots," he said. "My goal with the next one would be that you could never have seen 1883 or Yellowstone, and still have a fully realized experience as a viewer."

1883 fans became hopeful for a new season when streaming service Paramount+ announced in mid-February it had ordered more of the show. But "more" means more of Sheridan, and that means 1932. (Among other projects he's developing.) Filming locations have not been announced.

Yellowstone and 1883 follow the lives of the Duttons, first with the modern-day Western drama of the John Dutton family, then with the late 19th-century story of James and Margaret Dutton’s move west across the U.S.

Sheridan, who graduated from Fort Worth's Paschal High School and now lives on a ranch in Weatherford, brought the star-studded cast to shoot in the Dallas-Fort Worth area last year. The show employed hundreds of local production crew and extras, used local businesses, and heavily featured locations like the Fort Worth Stockyards.

The show — whose official trailer featured a killer line about the city, delivered by star Billy Bob Thornton — was built up as one of the buzziest newcomers of the year.

1883 debuted in December and reportedly set a premiere record of 4.9 million households.

Powered by the success of 1883 and Yellowstone, Fort Worth recently shot onto a prestigious list of top filmmaking cities for first time; the city landed at No. 25 on Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, an annual list compiled by Los Angeles-based publication MovieMaker.

A couple of visits to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo by two of the shows' biggest stars February 1 and 2 drew swarms of fans, near and far.

A display of 1883 costumes on props is on display at National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame — where Sheridan's wife is a board member. The exhibition "1883: The Journey West" will be on view at the Fort Worth museum until March 20.

Sam Elliott as Shea Brennan in 1883.

Photo courtesy of Paramount+

Sam Elliott as Shea Brennan in 1883.

Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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