Some television hits you have time to plan for. And others come at you like an avalanche, leaving you barely enough time to duck before the show, and the accompanying media noise machine, rolls over you like you’re in an Indiana Jones movie.
1923 seems to land somewhere in the middle. It’s got a pedigree cast, and has landed with an explosion of media noise behind it. At the same time for a variety of reasons it seems to not quite commanding the sort of space taken in the national conversation taken by, say, The White Lotus or Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton in 1923.Credit:Paramount+
Which is not to say it’s not a hit. It is. A monumental one. It’s even part of something bigger – the Yellowstone franchise – though it’s worth remembering that Yellowstone is something of a Claytons TV franchise. It’s the TV franchise you have, when you’re not having TV franchise.
So, what’s the big deal with 1923 and is it worth your time?
Where do we even start?
Simples. 1923. It’s on Paramount+, and it stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. Go press play.
What’s it about?
Harrison Ford plays Jacob Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton family, who rules over the Dutton ranch with an iron fist. Helen Mirren plays Cara Dutton, his wife. Think of it like McLeod’s Daughters, but with sons, as if Victoria Barkley from The Big Valley had married Ben Cartwright from Bonanza. Those are all, essentially, wild west soaps. Where the men brood and wear Stetsons, and the women have backbone and bite. 1923 lands with more nuance than, say, The Big Valley, but they definitely share some DNA.
Kevin Costner plays Montana ranchland-owner-turned-governor John Dutton in Yellowstone.Credit:Stan
So, what’s the connection to Yellowstone? Is 1923 the origin story of Yellowstone?
Well, Yellowstone is set in the present day, and tells the story of the Dutton family in present-day Montana. Big family, big ranch, big problems. In keeping with the “everything’s bigger in Texas” theme of Dallas, the original modern western soap, 1923 just transplants that melodrama into Montana. 1923 is set in 1923 and tells the story of the Dutton family in 1923. But 1923 is not the origin story of Yellowstone. That’s another show, 1883, which is, surprise, surprise, set in 1883, back when the Dutton’s first took over the land in Montana that they eventually turned into the family ranch.
Look, I hate westerns. Should I stop reading now?
No, because 1923 is a western only in the same way that Game of Thrones is a fantasy series rather than a political thriller. 1923 is, once you sweep the western trappings away, a huge family soap opera. Not in the sudsy sense, though. It’s Succession in Stetson.
Is it weird that Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren have done a TV show?
To some extent, yes. It absolutely plays to the trend of film actors turning up on television because the writing has more room to breathe, and there is more variety in the kinds of roles television offers them. That said, Helen Mirren began on television, was the star of Prime Suspect, before migrating to film.
Right, so it really is a franchise.
Yep. But keeping it all together can be a little complicated. Yellowstone, the first series, is on Stan because Stan signed a deal with its US studio, Paramount Television, when there was just one show. Then, when it came time for 1883 and 1923, both were commissioned in the US by Paramount for the studio’s streaming platform, Paramount+, so they both ended up on Paramount+ here when that platform launched locally.
From left: Isabel May, Sam Elliott and Tim McGraw in 1883.Credit:Emerson Miller/Paramount+
It’s just those three shows, then?
For now, yes. Another series, 6666, is in development and is set in the present day on the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. And a spin-off to 1883, 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, is in development. Paramount has given the show’s creator Taylor Sheridan a fairly free hand, given the immense popularity of the shows he has created for them.
So, if I have just stepped into the Yellowstone world, at what point in the story should I begin?
Depends. Star Wars is a good touchstone here. They suggest either the release order (so, for Star Wars, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, Rogue One, 8, 9), the chronological order (1, 2, 3, Rogue One, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) or the “machete” order, which is a balance of chronology, preservation of mystery (“I am your father!”) and a focus on good films only. So, Rogue One, 4, 5, 2, 3, 6.
How do I translate that into Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923?
You could go in release order, which would be Yellowstone, 1883 and then 1923, or story chronology, so 1883, 1923 and then Yellowstone. In truth, however, 1883 was a bit iffy, so the smart money is to split the difference and just watch 1923 to start. It’s easy too: we’re only two episodes in, so you will be all caught up in a jiffy. And if you’re curious about how it all ended up a century later, you can then watch Yellowstone. That’s almost 50 episodes over five seasons, so save it for rainy weekends.
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