FORT WORTH, Texas — "The road to 'Yellowstone' began in Fort Worth."
That phrase could be found all over the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame on Thursday night as Taylor Sheridan and cast members from "1883" helped kick off a new exhibit featuring props, costumes, scripts and behind-the-scenes photos from the show.
The exhibit opens on Feb. 11 and will be around until March 21.
Sheridan -- who does everything from acting, writing, and directing -- is becoming a hot commodity in Hollywood.
He's attached to numerous projects after "Yellowstone" became one of the biggest television shows.
Sheridan masterminded the project, which legendary film star Kevin Costner leads.
"1883" is a prequel to "Yellowstone", and much of its first episodes were filmed in Fort Worth. In "Yellowstone", Costner plays John Dutton, a rancher constantly fighting for his family's name and land in Montana.
"1883" explains how the Dutton family traveled west along the Oregon Trail to get to Montana. It stars Tim McGraw, Sam Elliott and Faith Hill.
The show is one of Paramount+'s most significant streaming draws.
Sheridan, who grew up in Texas, explained why Thursday night.
"It's a great story to tell," Sheridan said. "No one has really explored how people came to this place and how they went to other places--and what that took."
Sheridan made it clear as he spoke to an audience of Fort Worth's leaders, including the city's film commission: He wouldn't have been able to make "1883" without their help.
Crews shut down the seven city blocks in the Stockyards to create an "1883" version of Fort Worth.
"We couldn't have done it without them," Sheridan said. "What they allowed us to do -- it was a lot of fun and great for people to see. The mayor's office and the film commission were all instrumental in all of that."
Actors Isabel May, Eric Nelson, Gratiela Brancusi and Dawn Olivieri were alongside Sheridan and his wife Nicole for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
May plays the show's narrator and the female lead, Elsa Dutton. As a viewer, you get to see the dangers and excitement of the American West through her eyes.
Unfortunately, May arrived late to the ceremony and didn't do interviews.
But Brancusi spoke with WFAA. She plays Noemi, a Roma woman traveling alongside the Duttons. Brancusi was born in Romania herself, and loved getting to know the character.
"Taylor's writing is incredible, so as an actor -- there's nothing more I could ask for," Robbins said. "I'm a city girl, y'know, so coming here to Fort Worth and learning how to ride a horse, rope and ride a wagon was some of the best times of my life."
Nelson, who plays Ennis, told WFAA that riding came easy to him because his parents trained and showed horses during his childhood.
Still, he added that becoming a cowboy for his role was a new experience.
"The greatest gift that Taylor gave us was multiple weeks of cowboy camp before shooting," Nelson said. "He had us not only herd cattle, but we were pushing them across rivers and alongside mountains."
Nelson's character has an on-screen romance with May's character, which quickly became something fans looked forward to.
Unfortunately, their romance ends abruptly in the middle of Season 1 -- but no spoilers from this reporter.
Nelson, for his part, said the show's offering him an outpouring of love from fans that he didn't expect.
"It was all part of the plan from day one," Nelson said. "But, boy oh boy, the fans -- I didn't expect the amount of support and love that I would receive. It was truly overwhelming."
As for "Yellowstone", Sheridan told WFAA he's currently writing Season 5 -- but wouldn't give any clues as to what would happen next.
"I'm writing it now," Sheridan said. "So we'll see where that journey takes us."