‘Yellowstone’ Spin-off ‘1883’ to Premiere on Paramount Network Next Week

“1883,” a prequel to Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone,” is coming to the network. Beginning Sunday, June 18, the first two episodes of the series will premiere at 8/7c p.m. After that the series will move to a weekly release schedule.

To be clear, this is not a second season of the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Western drama. Instead, Paramount will merely be airing episodes from this limited series on its network. “1883” first premiered on Paramount+ in December of 2021. The series ran for 10 episodes before concluding in February of 2022.

The news has caused some confusion among fans. On Sunday, the official “Yellowstone” account posted it was a week away from “1883’s” “premiere.” “I’m confused,” one user commented. ” How is this the premier ? [sic] I watched the entire series last year.”

“Is this a new season? Or the first one?” another user wrote.

Set in its titular year, “1883” follows the post-Civil War generation of the Dutton family. After they leave Tennessee to travel to Texas, a wagon train eventually leads them Montana and the future site of Yellowstone Ranch. The limited series was created by Taylor Sheridan and is the second installment in the “Yellowstone” universe.

Though “1883” is a limited series, it does have its own sequels. Paramount originally announced that it planned to give the prequel series additional episodes and that it was moving forward with the sequel series “1923.” Starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, the drama follows the Dutton family as they survive a long list of hardships from Prohibition and droughts to the early stages of the Great Depression. That series premiered in December of 2022 and was given a second season in February.

Sheridan’s upcoming “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” will also be an “1883” spinoff. Starring David Oyelowo, Season 1 of the anthology series will tell the story of the first Black Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River, a man who allegedly made over 3,000 arrests yet was never wounded.

Though “1883” premiering on Paramount Network may be confusing to fans, it makes sense from a network synergy point of view. “Yellowstone” first premiered on the network and remains a Paramount Network original. It’s only after the entertainment company became more serious about streaming that Paramount+ started to exclusively premiere its sequels.