I Just Learned Tim McGraw Is Playing The Most Brutal Role Of His Career, And I’m Excited To Hate On Him

One of the most celebrated country singers currently working, Tim McGraw could presumably live easy without needing to do anything else with his career. But that’s hardly a reason for him to rest on his laurels, especially when it comes to broadening his acting chops. The Grammy winner was recently cast to play the darkest, meanest and maybe even the most evil role of his career. And it’s gonna rock.

McGraw was added to the cast of the upcoming comic book adaptation Southern Bastards, where he’ll play a heap of antagonistic dogsh-t opposite a character portrayed by Kevin Bacon. Seeing those two go head-to-head already sounds solid in any given context, but even more so within the football-obsessed backwoods setting of Craw County, Alabama. Let’s take a closer look at why this role is a banger for the musician-turned-actor.

Euless Boss Will Be Tim McGraw's Most Brutal Role Yet

Based on the unapologetically gritty source material crafted by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour — both of whom serve as executive producers — Southern Bastards was ordered to pilot at Hulu, and stars 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple co-star Erin Kellyman as Roberta, a former U.S. Marine under investigation for an incident in Afghanistan. With inherited trauma coursing through her veins, Roberta arrives in Craw County with a vengeful purpose involving her father Earl (Kevin Bacon), and the biggest obstacle in her path is Coach Euless Boss.

Enter Tim McGraw, who will bring this human sh-tstain to life. At least, that’s how the character comes across initially. Coach Boss is essentially judge, jury and executioner for everything in the Bama area, due to his role as the coach of the State Champs, the Runnin’ Rebs. This is a place where high school football is everything, and anyone outside that loop might as well leave town forever, because Coach Boss does not suffer the ignorant or unskilled.

Though Aaron and Latour broaden Southern Bastards’ storyline in ways that make Euless Boss more of a sympathetic character, he is a total effing monster for the comic series’ first arc, and no role in McGraw’s career comes close to the kind of immoral vitriol that’s stained the Coach’s heart and soul over time. Because he’s not just the football coach, or else his influence might never have stretched beyond the goal posts. He’s also the head of organized crime in that neck of the woods, and no one comes looking for the bodies that he buries. At least not usually.

So even if this project only lasts one season (assuming it gets that season at all), it's pretty much guaranteed that Tim McGraw will be at his all-time seediest and most reprehensible. And I cannot wai-i-i-i-it for it.

This Won't Be Tim McGraw's First Football-Friendly Project, But It'll Be Completely Different

This will be Tim McGraw’s third time playing a complicated character with strong ties to high school football and beyond. More than 20 years ago, he portrayed the hard-drinking former athlete Charles Billingsley, father to Garrett Hedlund’s Donnie, in 2004’s Friday Night Lights.

Then, in 2009, McGraw took on the role of Sean Tuohy, the (allegedly) adoptive father of Michael Tuohy, in the hit drama The Blind Side, which was an awards boon for lead actress Sandra Bullock.

McGraw's most recent TV character was also one that fans were meant to get behind and root for, as he portrayed the patriarch of the Dutton family within Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone universe. The singer/songwriter held the role of James Dutton in the prequel drama 1883, which earned him much critical acclaim, as well as a host of fans wishing he could reprise the role in a new season.

Here's hoping Southern Bastards casts fellow FNL star (and Taylor Sheridan lead actor) Billy Bob Thornton for a fun reunion that would definitely tickle Landman's co-creator.

Hopefully a series order will get locked in place, and fans with Hulu subscriptions will be able to watch the comic book adaptation as soon as possible, even if it won’t arrive in time to debut on the 2026 TV schedule.