Everything you need to know about 1923, the latest Yellowstone spin-off
The new series packs some serious star power, including Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, but what is it actually about, and how does it connect to Yellowstone?
Taylor Sheridan expanded his Yellowstone-verse last year with 1883, a prequel about the Dutton family moving west. Now Sheridan is back with 1923, a star-laden saga which continues the story of the Duttons and the Yellowstone Ranch. But there’s still a big gap in time between 1883 and 1923—and an even bigger one between 1923 and Yellowstone. Here’s some background on the newest spin-off and what we can expect:
Fast facts
- 1923 stars Hollywood legends Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton, the current proprietors of the Yellowstone Ranch.
- This is the first time Ford and Helen Mirren have been on screen together since 1986’s The Mosquito Coast.
- 1923 is creator and producer Taylor Sheridan’s fifth series on Paramount/Paramount+, following Yellowstone, Mayor Of Kingstown, 1883, and Tulsa King. He’s like the new Shonda Rhimes, but with a distinctly Western flavor.
- The new series will cover Montana’s post-World War I era, including the Flu Pandemic, the Depression, and Prohibition.
- Historical note: The Depression hit Montana about 10 years earlier than the rest of the country, but it was also the first state to repeal Prohibition in 1926.
- 1923 debuts exclusively on Paramount+ on Sunday, December 18, with the first of eight episodes. The second episode airs on January 1, 2023, and the remaining will be released weekly.
How does 1923 fit into the Yellowstone timeline?
1923 begins 40 years after the Dutton’s arrival in Montana and, according to a flashback scene in season four of Yellowstone, 30 years after patriarch James Dutton’s death in 1893. 1923 chronicles the lives of the next generation of the Dutton family.
Who are Jacob and Cara Dutton?
Jacob Dutton is James Dutton’s brother, and Cara is his Irish-born wife. To put it in perspective—and amid much debate—Jacob and Cara are the great-great-great uncle and aunt of the “current” John Dutton, played by Kevin Costner. And just to let you know: There are a lot of John Duttons, so it can be a little hard to keep track. Jacob and Cara don’t have children of their own. They are parental figures to James and Margaret’s surviving children, John Sr. (who has a son, John Jr., called Jack) and Spencer, played respectively by James Badge Dale (The Departed, Iron Man 3) and Brandon Sklenar (Westworld, Vice). The heir and the spare, so to speak, are also very involved in the running of the ranch.
What is 1923’s storyline?
In the teaser trailer, there’s a voiceover by Elsa Dutton, James and Margaret’s daughter, who died in the finale of 1883. “Violence has always haunted the Dutton family … where it doesn’t follow, we hunt it down. We seek it.” Subsequent trailers detail the troubles the Dutton family faced in the early 20th century: Drought, looming poverty, cattle theft, and East Coast interlopers attempting to take their land, as the Duttons threaten, shoot, and kill to protect their property rights and defend their family. So, not much is different from what’s happening with the Yellowstone ranch now. As “our” John Dutton frequently points out, the struggle is real and ongoing.
More specifically, the biggest threat comes from Donald Whitfield, the evil East Coast transplant. Played by Timothy Dalton (The Crown, License To Kill) with mustache-twirling intensity, he owns the Stratford ranch next to the Yellowstone. But, as he tells a cohort, “I want the whole valley!” History says he will fail, but it should be interesting to find out how.