Succession in a Stetson:everything you need to know about 1923

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 anIndiana 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 orObi-Wan Kenobi.

Which is not to say it’s not a hit. It is. A monumental one. It’s even part of something bigger - theYellowstone franchise - though it’s worth remembering thatYellowstone 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 with1923 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 likeMcLeod’s Daughters,but with sons,as if Victoria Barkley fromThe Big Valley had married Ben Cartwright fromBonanza. 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.

So,what’s the connection toYellowstone? Is1923 the origin story ofYellowstone?
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 ofDallas,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. But1923 is not the origin story ofYellowstone. That’sanother 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,because1923 is a western only in the same way thatGame 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’sSuccession 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 ofPrime Suspect,before migrating to film.

Right,so it reallyis 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 for1883 and1923,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.

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 to1883,1883: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 theYellowstone 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,forStar 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.

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How do I translate that into Yellowstone,1883 and 1923?
You could go in release order,which would beYellowstone,1883 and then1923,or story chronology,so1883,1923 and thenYellowstone.In truth,however,1883 was a bit iffy,so the smart money is to split the difference and just watch1923 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 canthen watchYellowstone. That’s almost 50 episodes over five seasons,so save it for rainy weekends.

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