1883’s Tim McGraw Talks How Wife Faith Hill Gets Him To ‘Straighten Up’ While Filming Yellowstone Prequel

tim mcgraw faith hill 1883 paramount+
(Image credit: Paramount+)

The Yellowstone prequel, 1883, has begun to roll out on Paramount+ and it features one of the most iconic couplings in the music industry as the stars of the show. Of course, I’m talking about country music stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who have been married for 25 years and have three daughters together. As we watch the couple portray a husband and wife living in post-Civil War America, McGraw is sharing what it’s really like to have his partner as a costar. 

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s professional lives have certainly collided before, but never has the couple been the face of a TV show. When speaking to Fox News, McGraw spoke about how Faith Hill influenced his work on 1883. In his words: 

In the middle of a scene, there are little gestures that she'll give me, like when she knows that I'm off track a little bit, she'd give me that look to set me back straight. Just like when we're singing on stage and I'm singing flat on my harmony part. I'll get that look from her and I know I better straighten up because I'm not doing this well enough. So we definitely have that sort of communication between us.

While some couples may steer clear of working with one another, it sounds like McGraw and Hill actually thrive working alongside one another, whether that be through their collaborations on many musical performances, or starring in 1883 together. McGraw shared that his wife has a way of getting him to “straighten up” in moments where he needs it, and it allows him to take the cue and adjust accordingly. 

In 1883, we see the origins of the Dutton Ranch from Yellowstone fame through Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s James and Margaret Dutton, who have a journey west through the Great Plans toward the last bastion of untamed America. The show follows the incredible success of Yellowstone for the past four years. Led by Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, the Paramount series has been a smash hit, leading to the spinoff series. 

Costner warmly welcomed the couple to the Yellowstone family over the summer, prior to its recent premiere. Faith Hill has been candid about how “uncomfortable” it can be to play a couple on a series, such as with an 1883 naked bathtub scene. As the singer / actress shared, when it comes to intimate scenes, she likes to keep it between them, and understandably so, but admits the 1883 moment turned out “beautiful.”

Before to the premiere of 1883, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill showed up in flashback sequences on Yellowstone, and it appears to have worked to get people watching the new series. The first three episodes of the series have aired to some great ratings, and can be streamed exclusively on Paramount+. New episodes will become available on Sundays. 

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.