1923 is an American Westerndrama television series. The series is a prequel to the Paramount Network series Yellowstone and serves as a sequel to the series 1883, with Isabel May reprising her role from the latter as narrator Elsa Dutton.
The first season premiered on December 18, 2022, on Paramount+ and consists of eight episodes. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on February 23, 2025, and consists of seven episodes.
Premise
The series follows a generation of the Dutton family in 1923, during a time of various hardships including Prohibition, drought, and the early stages of the Great Depression, which affected Montana long before the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
Cast and characters
Main
Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton, the wife of Jacob Dutton and the Dutton family matriarch.[1] Having no children, Jacob and Cara raised John Sr. and Spencer Dutton as their own.[2]
Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton family and the older brother of James Dutton (Tim McGraw in 1883).
Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton, the younger son of James and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill in 1883). Spencer has witnessed the horrors of World War I and travels British Kenya in Africa tracking big game.[3] Charlie Stover portrayed Spencer Dutton as a child during flashbacks set in 1893 in two episodes of the fourth season of Yellowstone.
Jerome Flynn as Banner Creighton, a Scottish sheepherder and adversary of the Duttons.[4]
Darren Mann as Jack Dutton, John Dutton Sr.'s son and only child, James Dutton's grandson, and great-nephew to Jacob Dutton. He is a dedicated rancher who is deeply loyal to his family.
Isabel May as Elsa Dutton, who serves as the main narrator in the series.[5] May also portrayed Elsa Dutton in 1883.
Brian Geraghty as Zane Davis, the fiercely loyal ranch foreman of the Dutton ranch.
Aminah Nieves as Teonna Rainwater, a rebellious young Apsáalooke (Crow) woman who was taken from her family and placed in an American Indian boarding school for girls, which is funded by the United States federal government and run by the Catholic Church.
Michelle Randolph as Elizabeth "Liz" Strafford, a capable young woman and Jack Dutton's fiancée.
Timothy Dalton as Donald Whitfield, a powerful, wealthy business tycoon who is accustomed to getting what he wants.[6]
Jennifer Ehle as Sister Mary (season 1), an abusive Irish Catholic nun who teaches at the American Indian boarding school, often coming into conflict with Teonna.[8]
Sebastian Roché as Father Renaud, a narcissistic French Roman Catholic priest and the sadistic headmaster of the American Indian boarding school.
Marley Shelton as Emma Dutton (season 1), the wife of John Dutton Sr. and the mother of Jack Dutton.
Leenah Robinson as Baapuxti (season 1), a student at the American Indian boarding school and Teonna's cousin.[9]
Caleb Martin as Dennis, a hired ranch hand working at the Dutton ranch.
Brian Konowal as Clyde, a Scottish shepherd, a long-time associate of Creighton, and a former Chicago Police Department officer working as a spy for Whitfield.
Michael Greyeyes as Hank Plenty Clouds (season 1), a Crow shepherd from the Broken Rock Reservation who encounters Teonna while she's on the run.
Michael Spears as Runs His Horse (season 2; guest season 1), the chief of the Broken Rock Reservation, Teonna's father, and a neighbor to the Duttons.
Jamie McShane as Marshal Kent (season 2; guest season 1), a ruthless U.S. Marshal who leads the search for Teonna.
Cole Brings Plenty[a] (guest season 1) and Jeremy Gauna (season 2) as Pete Plenty Clouds, Hank's teenage son and a sheepherder.[11]
Joy Osmanski as Alice Davis (née Chow) (season 2; guest season 1), Zane's wife and mother of their two children, who are kept a secret due to anti-miscegenation laws.
Guest
James Badge Dale as John Dutton Sr. (season 1), the elder son of James and Margaret Dutton, Jacob Dutton's eldest nephew and right-hand man. Audie Rick portrayed John Dutton as a child in 1883. Jack Michael Doke portrayed him as a teenager during flashbacks set in 1893 in two episodes of the fourth season of Yellowstone.
Kerry O'Malley as Sister Alice (season 1), a cruel nun at the American Indian boarding school who takes advantage of those under her care.
Tim DeKay as Bob Strafford (season 1), Elizabeth's rancher father and a neighbor to the Duttons.[12]
Nick Boraine as Richard Holland (season 1), the head of a safari tour group in Africa who hires Spencer to hunt man-eaters.
Alexandra Grossi as Catherine Walsh (season 1), a wealthy British woman in Holland's tour group.
Amelia Rico as Issaxche Rainwater (season 1), a Crow woman seeking to reunite with her granddaughter Teonna.[12]
Jo Ellen Pellman as Jennifer, a British socialite and Alexandra's best friend.
Rafe Soule as Young Arthur (season 1), the son of Prince Arthur and Alexandra's former fiancé.
Colin Moss as Charles Hardin (season 1), a Colonial British railroad construction supervisor in Tanganyika who hires Spencer to eliminate a man-eating hyena.
Mark Daneri as Dr. Steven Miller, a physician and friend of the Duttons.
Colt Brown as Alec, a Scottish shepherd and friend of Creighton.
Sarah Randall Hunt as Ellie Creighton, Banner Creighton's wife and mother of his son.
Jessalyn Gilsig as Beverly Strafford (season 1), Elizabeth's mother who is accustomed to city life.
Tanc Sade, Justin Zachary, and Walker Hare as Brother Cillian, Brother Liam, and Brother Romero (season 1), a trio of Catholic priests sent to track down Teonna.
Joseph Mawle as Captain Shipley (season 1), the British sea captain of the S.S. Lambridge.
Ross Crain as Marshal Thomas, a U.S. Marshal and Kent's partner.
Currie Graham as Chadwick Benton (season 1), an attorney hired by Whitfield to represent Creighton.
Cailyn Rice and Madison Elise Rogers as Christy and Lindy, a pair of prostitutes hired by Whitfield.[14]
In a flashforward,[16] Cara Dutton hunts down a man for attacking the Dutton family, and kills him in a standoff. In Africa, her nephew Spencer, a big-game hunter for hire, shoots a rampaging lion, then travels to Nairobi where he is hired to kill a leopard in a safari camp. In Montana, Jacob Dutton and his men pause to observe the destruction of drought and locusts over the grasslands before riding into Bozeman. Jacob presides over a meeting of the Montana Livestock Association, ruling against Scottish ranchers, led by Banner Creighton, who are trespassing on cattle ranches to feed their starving sheep. Back at the Yellowstone ranch, young Jack Dutton is set to marry a neighbor, Elizabeth, but is called on to help run the cattle to higher ground, leaving Cara to smooth things over with the bride's family. In the hills, Jack encounters a herd of sheep, and gets shot at. At a Catholic-run Indian boarding school, Teonna Rainwater suffers physical and mental abuse at the hands of Sister Mary. She fights back, only to face the wrath of the headmaster Father Renaud, and further repercussions from the nuns.
2
2
"Nature's Empty Throne"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
December25,2022(2022-12-25)
Jacob and the Yellowstone cowboys save Jack from the sheepherders. They hang five of them as justice for trespassing and for attacking Jack, although Banner manages to escape. Jacob orders the sheep to be driven down the mountainside and handed over to Native American riders to take to their struggling Reservation. Teonna continues to stand up to abuse at the hands of Sister Mary. Her grandmother Issaxche visits the superintendent of government boarding schools, seeking Teonna's custody. In Kenya, after killing a pair of leopards, Spencer meets a British woman named Alexandra, and the two become smitten with each other. She leaves her fiancé and joins Spencer as he heads off on his next assignment in the Serengeti.
3
3
"The War Has Come Home"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
January1,2023(2023-1-1)
Jacob and his nephews return to the ranch. Banner stumbles his way back home and gathers the sheep herders to plot revenge against the Duttons. Jacob goes to town and speaks to the sheriff about the herders, while his family observes the modern trappings that Yellowstone National Park is bringing to Bozeman. On their way back to the ranch the next day, they are ambushed by the herders. John is killed, and Jacob and Elizabeth are seriously wounded. Reinforcements arrive and kill the herders, but Banner and several others escape. As the doctor tends to Jacob, Cara writes a letter, at Jacob's request, begging Spencer to come home to defend his family's land. In Africa, Spencer asks Alexandra to marry him and then saves her from a charging elephant and a pride of lions.
4
4
"War and the Turquoise Tide"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
January8,2023(2023-1-8)
The fallout from the rifle ambush by the sheep farmers is severe. Jacob is bedridden, while Jack and Elizabeth face her mother's insistence that she move east. With so many of his allies dead, Banner meets with the mining magnate Donald Whitfield to gain support for his war against the Dutton family. Jacob counsels Cara to take over the ranch's affairs, but to leave the fighting for Spencer's return. Telling the group that Jacob has gone to Wyoming to hunt down cattle thieves, Cara represents him at a meeting of the livestock association and convinces the members to agree to Dutton's plan for a new police force. After incessant abuse from Sister Mary, Teonna finally kills her before fleeing the school. Spencer grows closer to his fiancée and receives Cara's letter that a range war is in progress.
The Dutton ranch settles into a melancholy routine, and John's widow Emma takes her own life. In Africa, Spencer and his fiancée Alexandra begin the long journey to Montana. In Mombasa, hearing that travel by ocean liner would take months, Spencer signs on as a deckhand on a local tugboat that will get him to the Suez Canal, where he will arrange onward passage to America. Alerted that Sisters Mary and Alice have been murdered, Father Renaud brutally interrogates Baapuxti, then sends three priests after her cousin Teonna. In the Badlands, Teonna fends off a wolf and then encounters a Crow shepherd Hank who offers to help her. Banner attaches his fortunes to Whitfield's gold mining plans, as the cattle business declines. Having missed their wedding, Jack and Elizabeth say their vows alone on a hillside. Later, Elizabeth reveals she is pregnant. Jacob slowly recovers from his wounds. Alexandra insists on joining Spencer. On the way to the Suez Canal, their tug boat is struck by an abandoned French cargo ship and capsizes.
6
6
"One Ocean Closer to Destiny"
Guy Ferland
Taylor Sheridan
February12,2023(2023-2-12)
Spencer and Alexandra barely survive the tug boat capsizing in shark-infested waters and are eventually rescued by the S.S. Lambridge, which takes them to Marseille. Its captain agrees to marry them in international waters, offering his wife's ring for the ceremony. Back in Montana, Cara and Sheriff McDowell begin the process of hiring livestock agents. When Cara reluctantly admits that Jacob is alive and on the Dutton ranch, the sheriff visits and warns Jacob that he'll get to the bottom of the herder killings. Jacob's desire for revenge is overtaken by his realization of the mining magnate's intentions to squeeze the Duttons out, and he vows to stop the encroachment. Marshals raid Issaxche's home, killing her while searching for Teonna. Hank gives Teonna male clothing and the name Joe and burns her possessions from the school.
7
7
"The Rule of Five Hundred"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
February19,2023(2023-2-19)
Jacob, Jack, and the ranch's posse go with Sheriff McDowell to arrest Banner at the luxurious home given to him by Whitfield. Surprised to see that Jacob is still alive, Banner promises that their war is not over. One of the recently-hired livestock agents informs Whitfield about the situation, who then sends his lawyer to help Banner. Runs His Horse, Teonna's father finds Issaxche dead in her cabin. As he finds the attacker's tracks, Hank's son Pete arrives to inform him that Teonna is in hiding in the Badlands. They end up in a bloody encounter with the priests sent to retrieve her. Two of the priests find Teonna, and Hank saves her, but he is killed. Spencer and Alexandra find themselves in Sicily, where they unexpectedly encounter Alexandra's former fiancé.
8
8
"Nothing Left to Lose"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
February26,2023(2023-2-26)
After the priests do not return, Father Renaud and Marshall Kent search for Teonna. Runs His Horse and Pete Plenty Clouds find Teonna and take her south with them. Banner is released without bail, and he and Jacob again threaten each other. Alice, the wife of Dutton ranch foreman Zane, is arrested for miscegenation and Zane is beaten by police. Spencer and Alexandra board the SS Majestic bound for London. Alexandra's former fiancé Arthur angrily harasses the couple before challenging Spencer to a duel, which Spencer wins. However, Arthur attacks him and Spencer throws Arthur overboard in self-defense. Although Spencer is not charged, Arthur's father, the Earl of Sussex, orders the captain to remove him from the vessel at the nearest port. Alexandra learns her parents have arranged for her to return to London and that she cannot leave the ship. Seeing Spencer taken away, she declares she will find him in Bozeman, Montana. Back at the Dutton ranch, Whitfield arrives to announce that he has paid their property tax, and if they cannot pay him back by the end of the year, the deed for the land will default into his possession. Elizabeth suffers a miscarriage.
The Dutton ranch faces financial hardship, forcing them to sell their remaining herd. Before heading to Bozeman, Jacob scares off a cougar on their porch. He visits a speakeasy, where McDowell informs him that Zane and Alice remain separated and in jail. Still recovering from her miscarriage, Elizabeth heads outside but is confronted by the cougar, which Cara swiftly shoots dead. Having earned passage on a steamship bound for America, Spencer works alongside the young Italian, Luca. Spencer intervenes when another crew member rapes Luca and the ship's captain then executes the rapist. Spencer later talks Luca down after he prepares to commit suicide, and they work together to arrange fights between Spencer and other crewmates, earning them both money. Having returned to England, Alexandra remains heartbroken over being separated from Spencer. After revealing her pregnancy to Jennifer, she helps buy Alexandra a third-class ticket to America. Renaud and Kent continue hunting Teonna, and Kent ruthlessly kills several Comanche villagers as he grows impatient. Still on the run, Teonna asks Runs His Horse for permission to marry Pete, whom she later gets intimate with, until a lone cowboy stumbles across them and reveals they are in Texas.
10
2
"The Rapist Is Winter"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
March2,2025(2025-3-2)
Jacob secures the release of Zane and his family by blackmailing the local judge. He visits Zane but finds that he has been severely beaten in jail and can barely walk. On their journey back to the ranch, they become trapped in a blizzard and take shelter under their wagon. After discovering that a hungry and likely rabid wolf has slaughtered the ranch's chickens, it bites Elizabeth, and she is later forced to take a rabies vaccine against her will. Cara is awoken at night by the wolf breaking into the house and shoots it when it attacks her. Renaud and Kent continue their search for Teonna in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where the local marshal, Mamie Fossett, helps create illustrations of Teonna for wanted posters. The Comanche later retaliate at night, and Kent kills them, but finds that they are children. Spencer arrives in Galveston, Texas, where he meets the leader of a local crime syndicate, Salvatore Maceo. Despite Maceo's warm hospitality toward Spencer for saving Luca, he attacks Maceo's men after they prevent him from leaving. Maceo later allows Spencer to continue his journey, but must first help Luca smuggle illegal whiskey to Fort Worth.
11
3
"Wrap Thee in Terror"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
March9,2025(2025-3-9)
Alexandra arrives in New York City but is taken to Ellis Island along with the other third-class passengers to be processed. Claiming to be Spencer's wife, she is forced to go through an invasive medical examination and convinces an immigration officer to allow her entry, despite her pregnancy. Locals warn Alexandra of the dangers she may face traveling to Montana alone, and after reaching the Grand Central Terminal, a man begins stalking her. Runs His Horse meets Anders, a Texan cowboy, and agrees to work for him. Fossett is informed of the dead Comanche children and vows to bring Renaud and Kent to justice. Having survived the blizzard, Jacob and his group return to the ranch, where they are informed by their doctor that Zane is suffering from a subdural hematoma and that his condition is worsening. Elizabeth plans to leave the ranch for good once she has finished her rabies treatment and asks Jack to join her, but he declines. Spencer and Luca run into a roadblock of lawmen inspecting vehicles for contraband. While Spencer chooses to abandon the illegal whiskey they're transporting, Luca continues on his own and is quickly gunned down by the lawmen.
12
4
"Journey the Rivers of Iron"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
March16,2025(2025-3-16)
Whitfield holds a successful meeting for investors, proposing to turn Yellowstone into a tourist resort. He tasks Creighton with taking the Dutton ranch by force and hiding the evidence in a legal loophole so he can take ownership of the land. Alexandra is assaulted and robbed, but manages to make her train in time. Zane is given emergency brain surgery, relieving the pressure on his head and allowing him to walk again, and Jacob promises him they will get their revenge. Due to the immense pain she feels while taking her rabies vaccines, Elizabeth is discovered to once again be pregnant. Spencer is picked up by the sheriff of Fort Worth, who demands that Spencer continue delivering the whiskey so he can find the destination. After arriving in Fort Worth, the lawmen raid the bootlegger's warehouse while Spencer flees on foot and escapes onto a train. A group of vagrants later attacks him, but Spencer fends them off before jumping off the train. Runs His Horse, Teonna, and Pete help Anders and his cowboys herd cattle, but they discover the wanted posters and the bounty on Teonna's head.
13
5
"Only Gunshots to Guide Us"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
March23,2025(2025-3-23)
Renaud and Kent arrive in Amarillo, Texas, where Anders informs them that Teonna has fled across a long stretch of wide-open plains. Pete separates from Teonna and Runs His Horse to search for water, but finds Renaud and Kent who chase him down until Pete falls from his horse, and they shoot at each other. Fossett finds Spencer and brings him to Amarillo when he reveals he is from Montana. She calls McDowell in Bozeman who confirms Spencer's identity, but he implores that Spencer not return home due to the escalating conflict between the Duttons and Creighton. Still seeking to avenge his brother's death, Spencer ignores McDowell's warning and boards a train bound for Livingston, Montana. Alexandra is forced to work as a waitress on board her train so she can eat. After she is sexually assaulted by one of the passengers, Alexandra viciously beats him and is locked in a temporary cell. When the train stops in Chicago, Alexandra is arrested by the Chicago police, but two passengers who witnessed the assault, Hillary and Paul, defend her and she is let go. After discovering that Alexandra's connecting train had been canceled, Hillary and Paul invite her to join them.
14
6
"The Mountain Teeth of Monsters"
Ben Richardson
Taylor Sheridan
March30,2025(2025-3-30)
McDowell informs Jacob that Spencer is on his way home, but Jacob fears that Whitfield will have Spencer killed to stop him from inheriting the Dutton ranch. Creighton sends men to intercept Spencer at the Livingston train station while Jacob arrives first with McDowell. Having reluctantly stayed with Zane to defend the ranch, Jack takes off alone to join Jacob but is discovered by two of Creighton's men and killed. Having killed Pete in the shootout, Kent loots his body while Renaud berates him about the morality of all the death they have caused. After Kent shows no remorse for his actions, Renaud shoots him dead. Teonna and Runs His Horse later discover Pete and Kent's corpses, and decide to return home. Renaud finds them while they sleep, and shoots Runs His Horse, but Teonna fights back and kills him. Alexandra tells Hillary and Paul about the extent of her journey, and they agree to drive her to Montana in their automobile. After traveling hundreds of miles through freezing conditions, Alexandra awakens to discover they had run out of fuel during the night while far from civilization and that Hillary and Paul had died from hypothermia.
15
7
"A Dream and a Memory"
TBA
Taylor Sheridan
April6,2025(2025-4-6)
Production
Development
It was announced in February 2022 that a second Yellowstone prequel series had been ordered titled 1932 that would succeed the series 1883.[19] In June, the series was renamed to 1923.[20] In December 2022, Taylor Sheridan explained "No one has had the freedom I've had since Robert Evans ran Paramount," and discussed the 1923 production cost: "I would argue that 1883 was the most expensive first season of a TV show ever made. This was much more expensive. Much more expensive."[21] The series was predicted to cost between $30–35million per episode.[22] The series is set to run for two seasons.[23] In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.[24][25][26]
Writing
To establish the continuity of the Dutton family saga that began with 1883, Sheridan continued to use the 1883 character Elsa Dutton, voiced by Isabel May, as the narrator for 1923.[27][28]
Casting
In May 2022, Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford were cast to star in the series.[29] They had previously starred together 36 years prior in The Mosquito Coast. Ford, as revealed in a February 2023 interview with James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter, took up the offer to play Jacob Dutton despite saying in 2002 that he worked only once a year, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and his commitments to the titular role of the long-delayed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as reasons why he had not done as much work as he wished and wanted to try new things. As with his role in Shrinking, Ford accepted the role before there was a script, trusting that Sheridan would deliver a good one.[30] In a Deadline Hollywood interview, Sheridan explained he got Ford to fly down in his own plane to Sheridan's ranch, and told him "[the script] ain't written yet and you got to commit to it now. I need to know who I'm writing for... I poured about two bottles of wine down him. He said yes". Then Sheridan continued, "Then came Helen [Mirren], and same thing. Have a glass of wine".[21][31]
Pre-production began in Butte, Montana in July 2022,[33] Filming was scheduled to begin on August 22, also in Butte, since that city was the stand-in for Bozeman, Montana.[34][35][36] Principal photography took place across Southwest Montana, with many Montana-set scenes shot in the same locations as Yellowstone.[37] Additional scenes were filmed in Kenya, Malta, South Africa, and Tanzania.[38][39] Some of the scenes set on the ocean liner, RMSMajestic, were filmed on the RMSQueen Mary, which is now a floating hotel docked in Long Beach, California.[40]
The first season of 1923 premiered on December 18, 2022, on Paramount+.[45] The second season premiered on February 23, 2025.[46]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, 1923 holds a 90% approval rating with an average rating of 7.0/10, based on 39 reviews by critics. The website's consensus reads, "Distinguished by the ineffable star power of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, 1923 is another solid if unrelentingly grim addition to Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone universe."[47] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series has received a score of 67 out of 100 based on 15 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[48]
According to Paramount, the debut episode brought in 7.4million viewers in both linear and streaming telecasts, making it Paramount+'s biggest debut ever.[49][50]
↑ Shafer, Ellise (February 3, 2023). "'1923' Renewed for Season 2 at Paramount+". Variety. Archived from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023. "1923" has lassoed a second season at Paramount+
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