Is '1883' Actually Based On A True Story? Here's What To Know

1883 is the prequel to Yellowstone — both of which we have creator Taylor Sheridan to thank for dreaming up. Notice how we said dreaming? While 1883 may seem like a tale as old as time, the Westward expansion-inspired show is fiction. And, considering Yellowstone’s full plotline is also not based on a true story, this shouldn’t be all too surprising.

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Of course, that’s not to say that 1883 (or Yellowstone, for that matter) doesn’t have any realistic parts. While the majority of the characters are fictional, the show’s set directors, costume designers, and actors are all putting in the extra work to make the show line up with the time period.

Take costume designer Janie Bryant, for example. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Janie revealed that, at first, the 1883 actors simply didn’t look the part.

“I was with my team on probably the first or second day of shooting. It was all hands on deck and we were throwing fake dirt on the actors because I was like, ‘It has to be dirtier’—and we were already up to our elbows in fake dirt and distressing the material,” she shared.

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Then there’s Tim McGraw, who plays the patriarch, James Dutton. Since water was thought to be sparse during the trials and tribulations of trying to move West, throughout the series, Tim’s beard gets longer and longer, and he looks more and more weathered.

Interestingly, few characters are based on real-life people. Tom Hanks’ General George Meade, who appears in episode 2, was a real-life Army officer in the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War — during which, he defeated Confederate Robert. E. Lee. So, although Tom’s portrayal was brief, it was textbook.

Billy Bob Thornton's Jim Courtright is based on real-life gunslinger Timothy Isaiah Courtright, who lived from 1845 until 1887 when he was killed in a gunfight with gambler and gunslinger Luke Short in Fort Worth. His character is thought to be "more of an homage to the spirit of the gunslinger than a true-to-life portrait," according to Town and Country.

Only time will tell how many more real-life anecdotes will make their way into 1883.

Rebecca NorrisContributing Writer

Rebecca Norris is a full-time freelance writer living in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Over the past 10+ years, she’s heavily covered a range of lifestyle topics, including travel, home, beauty, style, wellness, and celebrity news. She is a graduate of George Mason University, where she earned a B.A. in Media: Production, Consumption, and Critique, along with a minor in Electronic Journalism. When she's not writing, she can be found strolling with her Jack-Chi, Cash, sipping iced matcha lattes, indulging in delicious cuisine, perusing farmer’s markets and antique sales, collecting colored glass, getting lost within the pages of a book, and exploring new bucket-list cities.