How does Taylor Sheridan keep up with his own stable of shows? The ultimate TV multitasker is preparing to put Yellowstone out to pasture this fall, launch Landman, and move onto The Madison while also prepping second seasons for Lioness and Tulsa King. Then there’s Sheridan’s ultimate A-lister feather in his cap: the Yellowstone prequel led by Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as earlier American Duttons.
The more things change for this family, the more that things (i.e., the ranch under threat of being taken by dastardly forces) stay the same, but that’s part of what keeps the audience tuning in for more: reliability. Taylor Sheridan knows what his audience wants, and as is increasingly the case in this streaming age, 1923 was intended a limited series but has blossomed into more. The prolific cowboy creator has been specific, however, about how this followup season will be the final farewell to Jacob and Cara Dutton.
Let’s get down to business on what has been revealed about a second season:
Plot
Filming was underway as of early summer with both Ford and Mirren, although there still appears to be plenty more work to do this fall. This month, the City of San Antonio revealed that they are working to help facilitate a leg of production in the southern Texas (and home of The Alamo) city. In a press release, as well, the city revealed that although the first season dove between Malta, Africa, and Montana, “the majority of season two’s filming will take place across Texas.” That includes filming near Austin, but there will also be plenty of scenes set in Butte, Montana.
As for the story, the Duttons are now at the mercy of Whitfield, who stepped up to pay those property taxes and would really like to take the ranch and might go to any lengths to do so, so don’t expect him to behave in a benevolent manner. Other loose threads remain, including resolution of violent struggles between Hank and Teonna along with with that duel between Spencer and Alex’s ex-fiancé. And then there’s the fact that Spencer and Alexandra are separated and presumably both headed to the ranch, and word on the cowboy-rumor street is that those two could be the focus of future Yellowstone spinoff 1944, with or without Matthew McConaughey or the 2024 series in the mix.
However, the Sheridan stable has grown ever more complicated with the recently announced The Madison starring Michelle Pfieffer (along with possibly Kurt Russell and Patrick J. Adams) in a series about a New York-originating family that end up in Montana’s Madison River valley with the story taking the form of “a heartfelt study of grief and human connection.” This will also be a Yellowstone spin off, but the timeline on this show (or whether it is actually 1944 or 2024) has not yet been clarified by Paramount+ or Sheridan.
Whichever show that Spencer appears on next, however, he should figure in prominently. He is the son of 1883‘s James and Margaret, and the Dutton family tree will grow more convoluted but hopefully gain clarity before 1923‘s second season finale. Speculation that Elizabeth is Jack Dutton III’s grandmother might be dead in the water following her miscarriage, but never say never. No matter what happens, the second 1923 will be a tangled web amid the overarching Sheridan soap opera.
Cast
Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren both climbed back onboard without any apparent hesitation, and Brandon Sklenar will reprise his role. Additionally, Dexter devotees will be interested to learn that Jennifer Carpenter joined the cast along with Janet Montgomery (New Amsterdam), and word is still pending on Michelle Randolph, Timothy Dalton, Robert Patrick, Jerome Flynn, Aminah Nieves, Julia Schlaepfer, and Brian Geraghty.
Release Date
1923 won’t return until mid-2025 at the earliest. That will be more than two years after the renewal landed, but this slow return can largely be blamed on the 2023 Hollywood strikes. Additionally, Taylor Sheridan has so many other TV shows in the works and more to come, so staggered release dates are to be expected to keep the Paramount+ slate humming along nicely.
Trailer
No luck here yet. Instead, here’s Stephen Colbert reminding Harrison Ford how hot he and Helen Mirren were together in 1986’s The Mosquito Coast. That hasn’t changed, either.
