Taylor Sheridan quickly became a household name with his Western drama series Yellowstone. The series follows the Dutton family (led by Kevin Costner’s John Dutton), who own the largest ranch in Montana. It weaves an intricate line of drama, romance, mystery, and murder, and became a huge success. In fact, it was so successful it went on to spawn a franchise with many spin-offs in various timelines. The most recent of which was the Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-led 1923, which promptly saw an earlier generation of the Dutton family navigate the early 20th century. But back in December 2021, we got the first addition to the Yellowstone universe with 1883, which follows the late 19th-century generation of Duttons, led by James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill), as they head across the plains in search of a place to call home.
In comparison to Yellowstone, which is heavy on romance and steamy scenes, 1883 is a lot more toned down — but it’s not completely devoid. As mentioned, James and Margaret Dutton are the heads of the family, but just because they’re determined to find a place to settle doesn’t mean they don’t find time to romance one another. A long day of traveling calls for a bathtub to unwind in and culminates in a steamy exchange that may just rival even the hottest of Yellowstone love scenes.
James and Margaret’s Love Story in ‘1883’ Is Steamy From the Start
The pilot episode of 1883 follows James and Margaret separately for a time, as they plan to meet in Fort Worth, Texas. James arrives first while Margaret (alongside her and James’ children, her sister, and her niece) arrives later by train. Upon arrival, their daughter Elsa (Isabel May) is the first to greet James, informing him that “Mama’s gonna throw a fit” over his scruffy beard. Sure enough, it’s the first thing Margaret comments on, though she does so with a smirk, telling him, “It’s fine for now.” The family piles into a hotel, and once alone in their (noticeably fancy) room, Margaret makes note of the bathtub, wondering aloud if there’s hot water in the lobby. James tells her there is, claiming this is the last room they’ll see for a while, and she deserves it. And after remarking that he’ll have to carry buckets of water up the stairs, Margaret shoots him a flirty little glance, and he winks at her before heading off to do just that. The scene switches to focus on another character and leads us to believe that’s the end of the James and Margaret flirtation. But to our surprise, it’s not, and the next time we see them they’re sharing the bathtub — setting the stage for what is, without a doubt, the hottest scene in the series.
The scene shows James and Margaret in the bath, with Margaret shaving James’ beard as they discuss potential places to settle down when they embark on their journey. James lists some of the places and their flaws, detailing Oregon, and Washington as having cool summers and mild winters, to which Margaret says sounds like a song. James scoots closer, framing her in with strong arms and lowering his voice, saying “You don’t think I hauled forty gallons of water up those stairs, just to get clean.” Tilting her chin up, he tells the blushing Margaret, “I’m wooing you,” before kissing her. In return, Margaret tells him how worth it those heavy buckets of water were, and initiates a steamier kiss in thanks — his scraggly beard forgotten about for the time being. Is it hot in here?
Despite being a shorter scene, and certainly not the most important part of the action-packed episode, it left a mark nonetheless. Since the series was intended to show the trials and hardships the family went through to become the poignant family in power we know them to be now, intimate moments were to be few and far between. So much bloodshed and heartache followed the family and their friends throughout the show, so to have a small vignette into these characters’ lives was welcomed and important. Their love is palpable and warm, and while the show may focus heavily on Elsa, it also shows off the prowess of its leading pair, and the undeniable chemistry that oozes in all of their scenes together. To make it even better, the actors behind the roles have a real-life romance that translates well to the characters, and helped make such an intimate scene so romantic and passionate.
‘1883’s Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Are Married in Real Life
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who play James and Margaret Dutton, have a long-standing history backing their on-screen chemistry. The pair have been married since 1996 and share three daughters. Both Hill and McGraw are first and foremost musicians, and country-music royalty at that, having met when Hill joined as McGraw’s opening act on his Spontaneous Combustion tour. They’ve shared the spotlight many a time, with joint concert tours and a Vegas residency, and multiple duets over the years (including a full album of duets). But interestingly this was the first time they had acted alongside each other.
Neither Tim McGraw nor Faith Hill were strangers to the camera, with both having dabbled in acting over the years. McGraw’s credits include films such as Country Strong and the highly acclaimed film The Blind Side, and Hill’s include the 2015 crime drama Dixieland, as well as cult-classic The Stepford Wives. Speaking with Collider, McGraw revealed he wasn’t actually looking for a series or a film to do at that time, but the script was too good to turn away. He also divulged that he and Faith were huge fans of Yellowstone from the get-go. In fact, taking on the roles in 1883 came as a personal offer from Yellowstone’s creator Taylor Sheridan, who asked if McGraw would be interested in a cameo.
Recalling this in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, McGraw said he agreed on the condition that he wouldn’t just be playing a singing cowboy. Sheridan agreed and workshopped an idea, eventually calling back and offering him a role in flashback scenes, and eventually extending a role to Hill. In the same interview, Faith spoke of her decision not to run lines with her husband before filming, saying: “Tim’s a legit actor, and I felt the only way to bring it as authentically as I possibly could was to experience James and Margaret for the first time on set. It would have been hard to separate the two for me. It seemed to work, because Tim still surprised me when we were working together.”
There’s of course still a certain sense of vulnerability and genuineness that their real-life relationship brings to the characters, but for the most part, James and Margaret do feel like separate entities from the actor/singers, so it seems as though Hill’s decision paid off. But it also makes the more tender and romantic scenes feel all the more special with this knowledge, and even the most benign of moments, like a simple handhold or utterance of “I love you” holds incredible weight. All those years of familiarity translate impeccably to the characters and helped to make what was already a steamy scene even more passionate. Oh, the power of love!
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