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Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren took up the mantle of the Dutton family Yellowstone prequel 1923. The duo play rancher couple Jacob and Cara Dutton who, as any fan of the original Paramount Network drama knows, face a world of dire challenges — from nature, from commerce, but mostly from other people.
“The conditions that agree with Jacob are the lack of pressure from humanity,” Ford said at a recent press day for the series, which streams exclusively on Paramount+ starting Sunday. “The approaching influx of population is a threat to his way of life. He sees it coming, and it comes like a train.”
(Photo by James Minchin III/Paramount+)
The latest installment in Taylor Sheridan’s rapidly expanding universe follows the Dutton family as they work to build their livestock empire as their Mountain West home witnesses the economic collapse of the Great Depression, and the onslaught of bad weather and distressed crops, pandemics. , the end of Prohibition, and the territorial battle for weed.
The series also stars James Badge Dale as John Dutton Sr., Jerome Flynn as Banner Creighton, Timothy Dalton as Donald Whitfield, Robert Patrick as William McDowell, Marley Shelton as Emma Dutton, Brian Geraghty as ranch hand Zane Davis, Brendan Sklenar as Spencer Dutton , Darren Mann as Jack Dutton, Michelle Randolph as his wife-to-be Elizabeth Strafford, and Amina Nieves as Teonna Rainwater.
(Photo by Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
The show draws inspiration from the Sheep Wars, a period in American history where cattle and shepherds waged war over the land.
“He’s under tremendous pressure,” Ford said. “There is a drought going on and the competition for grass between herdsmen and cattle has given rise to a real rivalry. Economic times make it difficult for ranchers and farmers to get loans to sustain them throughout the year, as the harvest comes at the end of the year. But the loans dried up, and modern conveniences were coming that Jacob knew would change the way of life and bring in more people.”
Care for the Dutton family’s business and legacy is a throughline throughout Sheridan’s multi-generational story, and there is concern that technological advances and the modernism of the 1920s might intrude on their lifestyle. But there’s another pressing matter at hand: a pending wedding between young lovers Jack Dutton and Elizabeth Stafford promises a new addition to the Dutton family, and not everyone is excited about it.
(Photo by Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
“As for my character Emma, I think she was almost threatened by Liz,” Shelton told Rotten Tomatoes about her role in the Dutton family. “Liz, his future daughter-in-law, went to school in Boston. I think Emma was really afraid that the preservation of the ranch, the Dutton way of life, and its legacy might be at stake with this new couple.”
Liz must have been reluctant about her induction into farm life, says Randolph (pictured above with Mirren). Being a Dutton means prioritizing life on the farm, which may mean putting his big city goals on hold. It’s an accurate element of the story, Mirren said, noting that she herself learned from a 1923 crew living on a farm.
(Photo by James Minchin III/Paramount+)
“Any person who lives on a farm, whether it’s a cattle or an agricultural farmer who grows vegetables or fruits, they are slaves of nature and everything,” he said. “So, this girl who was brought up in the East, a little spoiled, and educated. But she fell madly in love with a farm boy, and she wanted to marry him, but she had to understand what she had to give up for that. What life is going to be, as Cara knows very well, because it’s been her life for the past 40 years.”
Four decades is a long time, and Dutton clearly has a history with this land — find out all about it with a Paramount+ binge of the first Certified Fresh prequel 1883, starring Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Isabel May, Sam Elliott, and LaMonica Garrett. The heritage of the land invaded their DNA.
What do you do when that blood is threatened? The Duttons — in every generation seen so far — fight to protect what’s theirs. It helps that Jacob held a seat in the Montana Livestock Association, a leadership position passed down through the generations, as shown in Yellowstone.
“This is really the beginning of the Montana Livestock Association,” says Dale, who plays John Dutton Sr. “If I’m not mistaken, I think they’re still the most powerful animal law enforcement entity in Montana.”
(Photo by Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
“We fight on the ground, and this is the idea of Who owns this land?” he said. “Everybody uses this land to live, to keep their animals, and to keep their livelihoods. This tension with the grass is an incredibly selfish thing.”
Trailers for the series show Cara as a defensive matriarch and out for blood, but the character is not prone to threats of violence, Mirren said.
“It was a very horrific and violent experience that he went through that drove him to that point,” the Oscar-winner continued. “I would say that’s not his normal behavior, I guess. The Cara we see in later episodes is a well-balanced, intelligent, strong, smart, practical person.”
Backed into a corner, as their home and livelihood are threatened by the nation’s financial ruin, the harsh climate of drought, and neighboring threats intent on taking property that is not theirs, the Duttons engage of things into their own hands.

(Photo by Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
“As we have seen from Yellowstone, the Duttons have a way of handling things,” explained Geraghty. “Sometimes, they’re pretty practical and straight to the point, and other times, they do things outside the box.”
Or, as Mann puts it: “We’re going to show them what’s going on. We will answer these people because we need to protect our way of life.
92%
1923: Season 1
(2022)
premieres Sunday, December 18 on Paramount+.
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