Is ‘1883’ Over After That Finale? Taylor Sheridan Is Moving on to ‘a Different Era’

If it felt like you got a bit too much closure and not enough “what’s next?” in the 1883 finale, there’s a reason for that: It sounds like “This Is Not Your Heaven” was the last episode.

“We wanted to make a ten-hour movie that ended, and that’s what we did,” creator Taylor Sheridan told Deadline. As he explained, “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.”

There wasn’t much “happily after” for the characters. James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret (Faith Hill) lost their daughter, Elsa (Isabel May), after she took an arrow to the liver. Shea (Sam Elliott) did make it to the beach, but then we heard the gunshot. Thomas (LaMonica Garrett), who had previously stopped him from doing just that, did seem to find happiness with Noemi (Gratiela Brancusi) as they found a place to settle. (We saw James and Margaret again after their daughter’s death in a flashback on Yellowstone, though things weren’t looking good for them at the time.)

For what Sheridan calls “close ended,” his goal was to draw in fans who hadn’t watched Yellowstone, of which 1883 is a prequel. Now, his plan is to “peek through the window of a different era.” That comes after Paramount+ announced it had ordered a new Yellowstone prequel, 1932, which will follow a new generation of Duttons during the time of western expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression.

“I don’t think of any of these as spinoffs, but rather as complete stories that have common roots,” Sheridan 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.”

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But the confusing part of this comes when you remember that Paramount+ announced on February 15 that “more of … 1883 is planned for the service.” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of ViacomCBS Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios said in a statement at the time, “With the brilliant mind and gifted storytelling of Taylor Sheridan, we have created an entirely new world to explore with 1883 while expanding Yellowstone, and with 1932 we will open up a new chapter in this rapidly growing universe.”

So Sheridan has us wondering now what exactly that means. Might we see another series in the Yellowstone world picking up from a point of 1883 and following other characters, not necessarily the Duttons? Could there be a standalone movie? (Paramount+ did order one for SEAL Team, which is returning for its sixth season.) Is the door simply open for Sheridan, who has quite a few series coming to the streaming service, as well as a couple (Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown) returning for more seasons?

1883, Streaming Now, Paramount+