safari guy 1923

A Certain Dutton Family Member Winds Up in Africa in '1923'

Dec. 19 2022, Published 12:39 p.m. ET

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Episode 1 of 1923 .

Oscar and Emmy winner Kevin Costner ( Dances with Wolves ) leads your dad's favorite TV show: Emmy-nominated neo-western drama Yellowstone . First premiering in 2018, Taylor Sheridan's hit series — which centers on the Dutton Family members and their cherished Montana ranch — has been pumping out spinoffs left and right.

From 2021's 1883 to 2022's 1923 , fans are taking to the franchise like a horse takes to oats. The latter spinoff is a star-studded prequel to Yellowstone and a sequel to 1883 .

Starring Oscar nominee Harrison Ford ( Blade Runner ) and Oscar winner Helen Mirren ( The Queen ), 1923 features "a new generation of the Dutton family as they explore the early twentieth century in the mountain west." But one of the Duttons — who was just a boy in 1883 — boasts a storyline that takes place outside of the U.S. In fact, it's set in the heat of Africa.

Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton in '1923'

Who is Spencer Dutton in '1923'?

"Violence has always haunted this family," Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) says via voiceover at the start of 1923 . "And where it doesn't follow, we hunt it down." As she utters those words, the audience is introduced to an adult Spencer Dutton.

Played by Brandon Sklenar ( The Big Ugly ), Spencer Dutton — aka Jacob Dutton's (Harrison Ford) nephew — is a distressed WWI veteran who travels to a five-star safari lodge in Nairobi, Africa, to take down four-legged predators. The wide-eyed tourists who embark on African safaris have to be kept safe from the gifts of Mother Nature, after all.

Spencer's time in the Great War certainly had an effect on him, as he's haunted by traumatic flashbacks. Unfortunately, this is the least of his worries in Episode 1, as the episode's concluding moments put his life in great danger.

As he hunts a massive leopard during the dead of night, Spencer is stalked by a second predator, which comes at him from behind. The last shot of the episode is filmed via Spencer's point of view as a spotted cat leaps to the camera. It's heavily implied that Spencer is brutally attacked, but does he survive?

According to IMDB , Brandon Sklenar will appear in all eight episodes of Season 1 of 1923 , so Spencer will likely survive the ordeal.

Considering one of the veteran's colleagues shouts "Spencer, there are two!" moments before we see the second leopard pounce, perhaps someone shoots the animal in the nick of time.

Episodes of 1923 premiere on Sundays at 3 a.m. ET on Paramount Plus.

Who Is Jack Dutton to John Dutton? ‘Yellowstone 1923’ Revealed More of the Family Tree

Teonna Rainwater Has Potential to Be '1923's Most Intriguing Character — Who Plays Her?

Where Is '1923' Filmed? 'Yellowstone' Offers Only Some Clues

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1923 Series-Premiere Recap: At Close Range

This is what the Mountain West is like in 1923: The land is parched. The rain is locusts. The grass is straw. Cows and sheep go hungry. Automobiles line Main Street, but real men still ride horses. Old hostilities between the Irish and the British have recreated themselves in the new world. It is a hard year, but Jacob Dutton, played by Harrison Ford, has been here for 30 years and says he can’t remember an easy one. That Ford’s deeply creviced 80-year-old face looks carved from soapstone only underscores his claim.

There are plenty of reasons to panic, and yet the presence of a man called Dutton on this magnificent, hard-scrabble landscape puts me at ease. Series creator Taylor Sheridan has brought us all the way from contemporary  Yellowstone  to the year of that show’s first prequel,  1883 , and now to  1923 , to feel reassured. There was never a dawn in America without the Duttons.

In the opening few minutes, cowboy whisperer Sheridan throws it all at the screen unrestrained.  I have Helen Mirren money! I have a budget for elephants! Oh, your show has a cute little crane shot? I’m filming these vistas off the side of a chopper! We out here in Tanzania! Welcome to prestige TV in the time of  Yellowstone , baby!

Except  1923  doesn’t feel much like  Yellowstone , a show I consider to be the most captivating trash on television. It shares that series’ wide open sky and indulgent one-liners; the opening sequence of  1923   feels reverse-engineered from the (entirely correct) notion that we all need to see Mirren spit, “What do you know about heaven?” with a shotgun in hand. But it also feels like  1923  — a series that’s rumored to last only two seasons — is going to be carefully acted, tightly drawn, real-quality TV.

So let’s start with the first kill, which in the world run by ruthless men, belongs to Helen Mirren as Jacob’s Irish bride, Cara. The kill shot would perhaps be unexpected from a homestead wife if it wasn’t unexpected in precisely the way we’ve come to expect from the women Sheridan writes: women who would make better cowboys than their partners if only they weren’t missing a critical appendage. Cara shoots a trespasser who’s looking to kill her, too. She doesn’t have a choice. The frontier credo is live and let live until it’s kill or be killed.

An atmospheric narrator —  1883  fans will recognize the voice of Elsa Dutton — does her mightiest to explain how the sprawling casts are interconnected. However, what the Duttons really need is a public  Ancestry.com  account. Here’s my best attempt at recreating the family tree:

After the death of Jacob Dutton’s brother, James (Tim McGraw in  1883 ), his sister-in-law Margaret (Faith Hill in  1883 ) asked Jacob to ride to Montana, where Margaret was eking out a life with her two sons. Jacob and his wife raised those boys, Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and John (James Badge Dale), like their own. In  1923,  they’ve already grown up. John is married to Emma (Marley Shelton), and their son Jack (Darren Mann) is set to marry their neighbor Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph). Jack and Elizabeth are the grandparents of ranching nepo baby John Dutton III (Kevin Costner on  Yellowstone ). I apologize in advance for any misinformation in the paragraph above. Someone will kindly sort me out in the comment section, I’m sure.

The important part, I think, is that it was not Jacob’s idea to travel West in reckless pursuit of riches. His empire-building is borne from fraternal duty and nobler because of it.  Yellowstone  fans know something of his type: A man who would die for the land because the land is metaphorically, inextricably linked to his blood.

The central conflict of  1923  so far is between the cattle ranchers, who are descended from the Irish, and Scottish sheepherders led by Banner Creighton (a very welcome Jerome Flynn, a.k.a. the rascal sellsword Bronn from  Game of Thrones ). The Duttons stay the same across the decades; it’s their enemies that change. Here, the locusts and drought have conspired to kill the grass, and the search for something green to feed the livestock has inadvertently pitted hard-working men against each other.

Jacob is the head of the Montana Livestock Commission, which means today he’s well positioned to punish his foes under the auspices of the law. Their crime? Illegally grazing their flock on another man’s land. It’s during the hearing that Jacob comes closest to espousing the philosophy of self-sufficiency that will be passed down among the Dutton sons like a family inheritance. He’s got no sympathy for the men who trespassed to save their sheep’s lives, which is tantamount to saving their own lives. “Bullies, bullies, bullies,” Jacob calls the desperate men. “Bullies whining about the consequences of the rules they broke.”

To be sure, Banner doesn’t have much love for the Duttons, either. “You’re no God,” he screams at Jacob like a man who’s never seen an episode of  Yellowstone . Separately, Dutton and his ranching neighbors decide to band together to drive their cattle to grass at higher ground, where locusts are far from the most dangerous predator. The mountains belong to the wolves and the grizzlies.

Sheridan is so good at letting small decisions ripple across the water. An old man decides to move his herd to a higher altitude, and somewhere else on the range, a young woman is heartbroken. Jacob’s nephew Jack’s wedding will need to be postponed to accommodate the drive, and his bride, Elizabeth, tells him to go fuck a cow. It takes an intervention by sage and good Aunt Cara to smooth things over as she explains the fate of a cowboy’s wife to a woman about to take the plunge.

You don’t marry the man; you marry the life. And in this life, the needs of the cattle will always win. But in this life, Cara assures her, “You will be free in a way that most people cannot conceive.” I defer to her, of course, but I’d be lying if I said that right now I could conceive of the way these women, whose days are filled with mucking corrals and boiling potatoes, are inconceivably free. It doesn’t really matter, though. Elizabeth is hella horny for Jack, and soon they reconcile with a full mack sesh in plain view of their fathers. They’ll get married next week or the week after or whenever. On the range, Jacob tells Elizabeth’s irked and embarrassed pa, marriage is more of a formality anyway.

Given the depiction of Catholicism in  1923 , it’s hard to see how a marriage blessed by the church would be more sacred for it. The always terrific Jennifer Ehle plays Sister Mary, a brutal Irish schoolmarm at a boarding school for Native American girls. She viciously raps the knuckles of a pupil who can’t recite the chemical recipe for soap, because even in the Roaring Twenties, students were being taught lessons they would absolutely never use. When the student, Teonnna — played by  Blueberry  standout Aminah Nieves — abandons English to defend herself in her first language, Sister Mary calls it filth and carts her off the headmaster’s office.

This is a mistake, methinks. Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) makes Sister Mary look like a saint. He raps Mary’s knuckles for lack of compassion until it’s Teonna who cries for him to stop. But just when you might mistake Renaud for a reasonable and merciful ambassador of Christ, he whips the backs of Teonna’s legs for her part in disturbing his afternoon. When we glimpse the full extent of her injuries during the degrading group bathing the girls are subjected to, she’s still bleeding from her thighs. Sister Mary, a terror to the end, tells her to mop it up while her classmates sing “My Country Tis of Thee.” How’s that for a music cue?

At night, though, the girls whisper between their cots about what happens to them next. As horrific as school may be, they never hear from the graduates who promise to write. Do the nuns hide the letters? Or is whatever lies on the other side so bad that no letters ever arrive?

Montana is just one of  1923 ’s two theaters. In Africa, Jacob’s nephew Spencer is something of an assassin — the guy you send for when the big five come threatening your land. He and two African colleagues travel via Nairobi to a five-star safari lodge where they’ve been summoned to hunt a leopard. Deadeye Dutton still has night terrors from his time in the Great War’s terrible trenches, but Spencer’s solution — risking his life in the bush — has brought him closer to home than perhaps he realizes. Here, the grizzlies are lions and rhinos. The herd he’s protecting is wealthy holidaymakers.

It must be said that Spencer does the work with a great deal of flair, including using the men he works with as human bait. Sadly, the leopard opts to snack on a knockout newlywed who was ostentatiously flirting with Spencer at dinner just a few hours ago. Spencer’s bullet hits the leopard, but not before it kills the guest and not so quick that Spencer’s ready for what comes at him next. It’s another leopard. How lethal and also how strange! Aren’t leopards solitary big cats, you might be asking yourself? Well, stop. Leopards are whatever Taylor Sheridan tells you they are.

We don’t find out in this episode if Spencer survives the attack, but for the Dutton family, sacrifice often comes in the form of a favorite offspring. John Dutton loses a son in the  Yellowstone  series premiere; James Dutton loses a daughter in the  1883  season-one finale. That Cora writes Spencer a plaintive letter wishing for his homecoming feels decidedly foreboding.

But Spencer’s is not the only life hanging in the balance at the end of the series premiere. The war in Europe is won; closer to home, a range war is imminent. Banner and his men have cut Jacob’s fences so they can graze their sheep on the same high lands where the Duttons are currently driving their cattle. These dusky scenes of men moving their animals slowly up the mountain at night are among the most striking and  well-lit I’ve seen on TV lately  — ominously dark, and yet the action is completely intelligible. It can be done!

The Duttons know to be on the lookout for grizzlies, but — we were fools not to guess it! — man poses the greatest threat. When young Jack reaches the plateau and looks out at the grass, already wrecked by the mob of sheep, his eyes grow despondent before they take on the bewilderment of panic. A shot is fired in his direction, and we don’t learn who or what it hits. You might be thinking that Jack cannot die. Without Jack, there’s no John Dutton II, and without John Dutton II, there’s no John Dutton III, a.k.a. Kevin Costner. Then again, as Jacob assures his neighbor while their unwed kids make out in front of them — marriage is a piece of paper. It’s plain rude to interrogate the math between a man’s wedding anniversary and the birthday of his firstborn.

Perhaps Jack and Spencer both survive. Or maybe neither man ever comes home. For now, it seems impossible to understand the series we’re about to watch — to appreciate its tone and worldview — until we know just how many sons it’s prepared to sacrifice.

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Who is in Africa in ‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1923?’

The year is 1923 and a whole new generation of Duttons are here to stake their claim, make their mark, and survive the early days of the Great Depression and Western Expansion facing the great state of Montana.

1923 is the latest prequel series in Taylor Sheridan’s growing Yellowstone universe, taking place 40 years after the events of 1883 and almost a century before present-day Yellowstone . The show stars Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton, the patriarch of the family, and Helen Mirren as his wife and matriarch Cara Dutton. 

The series kicked off its Paramount Plus premiere on Dec. 18, giving viewers a taste of what to expect over the course of its 8-episode arch. Cara Dutton propelled viewers into the series by murdering a Scottish man in cold blood while Elsa Dutton informs viewers via narration that her parents, James and Margaret from 1883 , died in 1893. That of course means John and Spencer are now orphans. 

While Jacob and Cara hold down the fort at the ranch, other members of the Dutton family put their gun skills to use in the desert plains of Africa. 

Which character in 1923 is in Africa?

Spencer Dutton was first introduced into the Yellowstone universe during a flashback scene in season four of Yellowstone . Now, in 1923 , his storyline is explored even further. He is the son of James and Margaret Dutton from 1883 and the nephew of Jacob and Cara Dutton who now run the Yellowstone ranch following James and Margaret’s death. When we meet Spencer in 1923 he is officially in his 30s and no longer beholden to his family in Montana. 

In fact, Spencer is living in Nairobi, Kenya, making use of Africa’s lawful hunting of game during that period of time. When we see him for the first time, he has his gun trained on a ferocious lion and shoots it just in time before the lion attacks. This scene actually serves as a foreshadowing of Spencer’s final moments of the episode when he is ultimately attacked by a vicious leopard and is left in limbo as we wait until the following episode to discover if he made it out alive.

Throughout the series’ premiere episode, we learn that Spencer is suffering from PTSD due to his time fighting in World War I. Cara reaches out to him via letter to ask when he will return home, and it becomes clear that his family does not understand the burden he carries from his time in battle. Whether or not he will give up the nomadic lifestyle or plant roots in Africa will be explored in future episodes. Of course, that all depends on whether or not he survived the leopard attack.

The season premiere of 1923 is currently available to stream on Paramount Plus. New episodes release every Sunday at 12am PT.

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1923 recap: Back to Africa

Jacob's tale takes a back seat to Spencer's evolving storyline.

The second episode of the Yellowstone prequel 1923 picks up right where the premiere left off , with Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) about to become a leopard's late-night snack. During a fast-paced, dimly lit scene punctuated by screams, growls, and gunshots, the hunter is able to down the beast, but not before sustaining a few gangrene-inviting injuries. Sadly his friend and guide is not so lucky, dying soon after the animal brutally attacks him.

Back at camp, Spencer downs a bottle of whiskey while having his wounds tended to. The man who hired him shows no sympathy for the guide's unfortunate demise, and instead wants Spencer to regale him with details of the encounter. Spencer isn't amused. He calls the man out for his insensitivity, as well as the fact he failed to share that there wasn't just one leopard, but a pair on the prowl. Spencer aims his gun at the man's face, forcing repeated apologies from him.

Back in Montana, we're treated to another cliffhanger resolution. The shot fired at Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) by the trespassing sheepherder apparently missed the cowboy, but hit his horse. Jack is now trapped beneath the steed, and the shooter is rapidly approaching on his own horse to finish the job. But Jacob ( Harrison Ford ) is alerted by the initial gunshot and arrives with his posse in the nick of time.

They save Jack and wrangle the sheepherders, including their leader, Banner (Jerome Flynn). Jacob pistol-whips him, then orders his men to gather the sheep and deliver them to the local reservation as a gift. On top of stripping Banner of his livelihood, he places him in a deadly predicament. More specifically, he puts nooses around the necks of Banner and his men, tethers the ropes to a tree, and leaves them atop their anxious horses. As Jacob and his crew ride off, the fate of Banner and his boys is left to the horses.

The next time we see Banner, he's still alive and in the saddle. But the noose is straining against his neck, and he's surrounded by swinging, deceased mates. The horses are apparently more loyal to the herd leader, as his steed has not only remained still beneath the tree, but another trots over and gives him access to its saddle bag. Banner is able to fish a blade from the sack and escape with his life.

The episode also catches us up with Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves,) who continues to suffer at the hands of Sister Mary. Following laundry and sweeping lessons — part of the government boarding school's wife-training curriculum — the students and nuns are saying grace at supper. But Teonna isn't feeling especially grateful for her meal, a bowl full of mush and maggots.

Her and Sister Alice get into another vicious throw-down, leaving the latter with a shiner and the former with an escort to the "hot box," a solitary-confinement-like cell that looks like an outhouse. Before locking Teonna in the box, Father Renaud (Sebastian Roche) threatens to bury her alive if she steps out of line again. When she's finally released — presumably a day or so later — she's suffering from a fever and can barely stand. She's bathed by a nun, who sexually abuses her, before Alice interrupts to give her a beating and also threaten to kill her, or at least purge the "the Indian" from her.

Thankfully, it seems poor Teonna may have someone on the outside looking out for her. An older woman arrives at the school to speak with the superintendent. She appears to be the girl's grandmother and primary guardian, who's lobbying to get her placed at a school on the reservation. The superintendent treats her with great disdain, initially dismissing her request outright, but ultimately sending her off to navigate a series of bureaucratic hurdles to have her request considered.

The episode closes with another lengthy stretch in Africa, where Spencer is still drinking heavily, this time at a hotel bar. A British woman named Alexandra and her friends approach him and quickly identify him as "the American war hero who kills the man-eaters." Alexandra is clearly growing fond of Spencer, so her fawning friends remind her that she's engaged and whisk her away.

Later that evening, during her engagement party, the bride-to-be downs her drink and abruptly excuses herself. After meeting a friend and expressing her lack of enthusiasm for her future husband, she finds Spencer at another hotel bar. The pair again get close, but Alexandra's fiancé arrives and breaks them up. He's not as successful the next morning, however, when Alexandra spots Spencer leaving for his next job: hunting a hyena that's bothering railroad engineers. As his driver heads down the road, she grabs her bags; abandons her family, friends, and fiancé; and gets in Spencer's vehicle.

He warns of the dangerous journey he's about to embark on, but she's undaunted. "Lets look death in the eye then, shall we?" she asks rhetorically. The brooding hunter flashes a rare smile, and they drive off as she yells to her pursuing fiancé to go find someone who actually loves him.

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1923 season 1, episode 1 recap – does Spencer survive the leopard attack?

We recap the Paramount+ series 1923 season 1, episode 1, which contains spoilers.

Taylor Sheridan ‘s latest branching off onto the Paramount+ money tree is an exciting setup for another promising new series. This time he has the star power equal to his storytelling abilities. The new series opens up with a man being gunned down with some bullets in the legs. While he desperately tries to put some bullets into his revolver, Cara ( Helen Mirren ) comes up with a shotgun aimed square at his chest. The man talks about mercy, and Cara scoffs at him. That’s when she tries to fire her rifle, and there are no shells inside. As both desperately try to fill their weapons in a game of who can shoot the other (I didn’t coin that title yet), Cara fires one deadly round into him.

Cara then lets out a scream of anger.

1923 season 1, episode 1 recap

Spencer Dutton (Brandon Skenlar) is not hunting big game like bears or wolves in beautiful Yellowstone, Montana . He is in the Bush of Africa pursuing a flesh-eating lion picking off wealthy British adventure seekers thinking they are too important to die. No, this isn’t the Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer vehicle, The Ghost and the Darkness . It’s 1923 , the latest prequel growing off the Taylor Sheridan money tree that never seems to die. And when Spencer waits, one would think it a bit too long for the lion to sprint out of the weeds and leap directly in the direction of Spencer. Alas, when his two mates hear his rifle go off and come up on the giant beast lying on top of him, he is alive, and the lion is not.

Spencer’s next stop is Nairobi, where a leopard the size of a sofa is sniffing around some more British tourists. The manager wants to keep the patrons near the river and goats in the camp as bait. Yet, Spencer doesn’t want humans by the river. No, he doesn’t care about the dangerous crocodiles and hippos — Spencer thinks only human bait will do. Why? Because once these wild animals get a taste for human flesh, nothing else will suffice.

Teonna Rainwater

Three large buildings with multiple floors sit upon open fields where members of the Christian faith are colonizing a large group of indigenous girls, no older than 16 at the most. The Nun teaching the class, Sister Mary (Jennifer Ehle) , makes Sister Mary Stigmata look like Mother Teresa and repeatedly beats Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) with a ruler. Why? For not retaining the information from the lesson the day prior. Or the fact Teonna doesn’t remember what she was taught that day. Maybe it was her youthful disregard for the Nun’s omnipotence or just plain, classic overt racism.

Either way, Teonna retaliates. She pushes Sister Mary down, and all her anger comes pouring out. The young woman beats the Nun with her fists and leaves her as bloodied and bruised as her wrists. When the two are brought to the headmaster’s office, a priest by the name of Renaud takes exception to the treatment of Teonna. The priest has the sister recite a prayer while having her hands placed on the desk, and he beats her hands with his own version of school corporal punishment. He takes a makeshift paddle, short and round at the top, and strikes her wrist a dozen or so times.

However, just because Father Renaud doesn’t show the Sister mercy doesn’t mean he will show the same for Teonna. In fact, a theme in almost all of Sheridan’s works is the lack of compassion as a rule. He cannot let it go for fear of students thinking there is no discipline or rules. Renaud has the young girl put her hands against the bookcase, assume the position, and beat her so severely with his weapon her legs bleed for the entire day.

Jacob and Cara Dutton

Locusts and drought have ruined the grass in Yellowstone. Of course, Jacob is deputized, and there is a meeting between the cattlemen and sheep herders. A man named Banner (Jerome Flynn) , who appears to be the latter’s spokesperson, objects to the Dutton family owning most of the land and will not let their sheep chew on their fine grass. Jacob (Harrison Ford) tells him his family fought for that land… does Banner want to fight for it? (The answer is no, no, you do not).

The only thing to do is try and move the herd up the mountain where the fresh grass lays. However, bears and wolves who would love to take a bite out of the Dutton’s prized cattle lie in the weeds, just like in the African bush. So, that would be a strike against when answering the question, does Jacob move his herd up the mountain? Jacob and his family have a meeting with their fellow cattlemen and will hear them all together because of power in numbers, and move them all up the mountain.

Unfortunately, that means Jacob’s nephew, Jack (Darren Mann), has to postpone the wedding to the sweet Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) for a couple of weeks. She doesn’t take it well, and Cara is there to soften the blow and teach the young girl how cattle always come first. Cara “slow” plays, flaming the young love by telling her she shouldn’t see him now. Of course, now that Cara has convinced Elizabeth to hold off on the wedding and not see Jack, it only makes her want to see him more. Alas, their engagement is still on.

Ending Explained

Two things happen at the end of the premiere of 1923 . One, as the Duttons drive the cattle up the mountain, Jack is the first to reach the summit. He sees thousands of sheep chewing on the grass. (We saw Banner and his fellow herders, the night before, cut the fence and let his livelihood onto the Dutton buffet). As Jack looks down the mountain, a man on a horse is holding a rifle in his direction. One shot is fired, and the screen cuts to black before we know if anyone was hit.  Is Jack dead? We have no idea right now.

Lastly, the second significant development is that Spencer has laid a trap for the leopard. Unfortunately, a leopard grabbed a female British tourist using the fields as a bathroom. The big game cat drags the poor woman’s lifeless body on top of a large tree branch. That’s when Spencer shoots the leopard dead center and kills him. However, he is alerted by his team that there is a second leopard involved in the hunt. When Spencer turns around, the leopard leaps directly in his direction .  Is Spencer dead too?

The camera then cuts to black.

What did you think of 1923 season 1, episode 1? Comment below.

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• 1923 season 1, episode 2 recap
• What will the series 1923 be about?
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Article by Marc Miller

Marc Miller (also known as M.N. Miller) joined Ready Steady Cut in April 2018 as a Film and TV Critic, publishing over 1,600 articles on the website. Since a young age, Marc dreamed of becoming a legitimate critic and having that famous “Rotten Tomato” approved status – in 2023, he achieved that status.

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Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Episode 2 of 1923.

When you think of the Yellowstone universe, one thing typically comes to mind: Beautiful. I'm speaking cinematically, of course. The series as a whole is beautiful, with sweeping landscapes of Montana that feel like something out of a painting of rural America and what the West has that appeals to the masses. But after so many seasons on the Yellowstone Ranch with the Dutton family, it can feel like more of the same. Not to say that it isn't breathtaking to look at, but we know it so well that when we see the ranch come to life in 1923 , it's not that incredibly different.

What is our masterpiece to watch unfold in 1923 , you ask? Well, that would be Spencer Dutton in Africa. Played by Brandon Sklenar , the storyline now includes a potential romance with Julia Schlaepfer 's Alexandra, but what makes that B-plot so beautiful in comparison to the rest of the series is that it gives us a glimpse of a world far beyond the Yellowstone Ranch. — and when we do check in, there is always some action going on.

RELATED: '1923': Paramount+ Is Streaming the Premiere For Free on YouTube

Why Is the Africa Storyline So Compelling?

The end of 1923 's first episode bleeds into the beginning of the second, where Spencer took on a leopard and won all on his own. It's so cinematic in comparison to what is going on back at the ranch that it feels so fresh because we're used to the old way of life. Again, not that that is a bad thing, but it is just what we know about the series. If 1923 started off the Yellowstone universe, we might be thinking differently — but because Yellowstone Ranch is our home base, the Africa arc is so exciting.

The truth of the matter is that it is fresh and new and that's why it is the draw. With a show like this, we know the ins and outs of the Dutton family and even as we're meeting new characters, it is still more of the family we've come to spend our time with throughout the years. Spencer up and leaving the United States to go to Africa, though? That's interesting, because it seems to have ties to the trauma he suffered during the war.

We don't know what the future holds for him because we know that he's Kevin Costner 's John Dutton's uncle, but that's what we have information-wise about his future. He could be fine with a family that John just hasn't checked in on but given how the family works in both 1883 and 1923, it'd honestly be weird if Spencer had a family and one that was close to John and his kids. If anything, they'd be estranged and maybe that's the point: Introducing him and his future, and we'll see it connect to the modern arc in Yellowstone .

The Africa Storyline Is a Welcome Change of Pace on '1923'

Checking back in on Africa and seeing what is going on with Spencer is, currently, a nice change of pace from what we do know of the series. We're treated to a new place with new characters while all still falling under the umbrella of the Dutton family. I just do worry that it means that something is going to happen to Spencer — because as we watch this series and learn more and more about these Dutton kids, they all seem to just peter out with no kids because we don't see them existing in Yellowstone at all.

Spencer and Alexandra's storyline is just getting started, and I do hope we see more of it and that the series keeps returning to it before it ends up converging with the main plot back home as it inevitably will. Until we know more about Spencer, though, I will happily keep checking back in because this part of the series feels more like its own movie and a completely separate world from the Yellowstone Ranch. The show can, at times, feel very much the same drama mixed with new people thrown in, and the Africa arc introduces a different terrain for the Duttons to tackle, even if it is just Spencer there on his own at the moment. (I wouldn't hate if it meant that at some point, Harrison Ford ends up there with Helen Mirren , though.)

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Where Did 1923 Film Its African Scenes?

Although "1923" takes place primarily in Montana, usually within the confines of the Dutton ranch, the series also focused on a concurrent storyline based in early 1900s Africa. This new environment was a welcome departure from the familiar Montana wilderness. Here, viewers learned about the life of Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar), who is James and Margaret Dutton's son and who lives in Africa, working as a big game hunter after his service in World War I.

Spencer's story gets off to a rocky start as he suffers a serious injury while fighting two leopards. While recovering in Kenya, he meets a woman named Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), and the two fall in love. They later marry and begin the long journey home to Montana, where the rest of the Duttons fight a war for control of their ranch. 

Despite the fact that Spencer's time in Africa ends abruptly after Episode 3, there's no question that this excursion was one of the most exciting aspects of "1923's" first season. That said, there are no doubt plenty of fans out there wondering whether or not these scenes were filmed in Africa or if these beautiful landscapes were just movie magic.

These scenes were shot on-location in Africa

Thankfully, all of the African scenes from "1923" were genuinely shot in Africa, as confirmed by actor Brendan Sklenar during an interview with Collider . In the interview, he discussed his experiences shooting in different locations across the continent.

"We shot all over South Africa," Sklenar said. "Cape Town, Durban, Djibouti. Shot in Kenya for a bit, and then we ended in Europe." 

Sklenar went on to discuss how Spencer and Alexandra's island hideaway in Episode 4 — which is supposedly in Zanzibar — is actually located in Kenya, since filming there was much easier than taking the extra trip to Zanzibar. Although it's common knowledge that many film and television productions don't always shoot on location, it's clear the team behind "1923" felt it necessary to ground Spencer's journey actually in Africa.

What's more, it seems as though the production traveled the exact same path as Alexandra and Spencer as they left Africa, arriving in Europe just like the characters did following their freezing tugboat accident . It's nice to know that most of the gorgeous landscapes seen throughout Spencer's journey are shot on location, and that the series itself does an excellent job of presenting Africa's natural beauty.

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The Duttons face a new set of challenges in the early 20th century, including the rise of Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression. The Duttons face a new set of challenges in the early 20th century, including the rise of Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression. The Duttons face a new set of challenges in the early 20th century, including the rise of Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression.

• Taylor Sheridan
• Harrison Ford
• Helen Mirren
• Brandon Sklenar
• 349 User reviews
• 16 Critic reviews
• 4 wins & 22 nominations

• Jacob Dutton

• Cara Dutton

• Spencer Dutton

• Jack Dutton

• Banner Creighton

• Elsa Dutton

• Teonna Rainwater

• Elizabeth Strafford

• Sheriff McDowell

• Emma Dutton

• Father Renaud

• Donald Whitfield

• Sister Mary

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• Trivia While America's Great Depression began in 1929, it got an early start in Montana. The Great Depression began in Montana in 1918, almost 10 years before the rest of the nation. While the rest of America was thriving, Montana was struggling. Between drought and the reduced demand for agricultural products, due to the end of the "Great War" (aka First World War, from 1914 to 1918), many farmers suffered greatly. As a result, Montana farmers would default on wartime loans which lead to widespread bank failure throughout the state. Between 1921-1925, half of the farmers in Montana lost their land. By 1925, 70,000 of the 82,000 homesteaders in Montana left. In addition, 200 banks in Montana failed. Not only were crops affected by the drought, it was followed by locusts infestation and cattle succumbing to contagion.
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• December 18, 2022 (United States)
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1923 Episode 1 Recap: Will Spencer Die? Will He Return to the Yellowstone Ranch?

Paramount+’s Western drama series ‘1923’ is a new chapter in the origin story of the Dutton family. The series created by Taylor Sheridan is set after the events of ‘ 1883 ,’ focusing on Jacob and Cara Dutton, who led the Dutton family in the titular era. The premiere episode, also titled ‘1923,’ introduces viewers to Jacob and Cara while John Dutton and Spencer Dutton grow up to face their own battles. Meanwhile, the family faces several social, political, and economic challenges of their time and protects their family’s land from external threats. If you wish to catch up on the episode’s events, here is everything you need to know about ‘1923’ episode 1! SPOILERS AHEAD!

1923 Episode 1 Recap

The series premiere episode, titled ‘1923,’ opens with Cara Dutton killing a mysterious man running away from her in the wilderness. A narration from Elsa Dutton explains that her mother, Margaret Dutton , died a year after her husband, James Dutton’s death . As a result, James’ brother, Jacob Dutton ( Harrison Ford ), and his wife, Cara Dutton ( Helen Mirren ), arrive in Montana and raise the couple’s children, John Dutton Sr and Spencer Dutton. The couple helped grow the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch but are facing a horde of problems due to the socio-economic turmoil in the nation. In Africa, James Dutton’s younger son, Spencer Dutton , works as a hired hunter and kills a lion troubling a local community. He served in the army during the First World War and suffered from PTSD.

Meanwhile, family patriarch Jacob Dutton, the Livestock Commissioner, loses a herd of cattle due to a Locust swap. At the town hall, Jacob oversees a complaint by Banner Creighton, a local sheep tender whose cattle were killed by one of the ranchers. However, Jacob accuses Banner of grazing his cattle on another person’s property. Banner argues that there are no pastures to feed their herd due to the drought. Nonetheless, Jacob passes judgment against Banner, leading to a confrontation between the two men outside the hall. Later, Jacob attends a meeting with the other bureaucrats of Montana, and they formulate a strategy to survive the drought.

At the Yellowstone Ranch , John’s son, Jack Dutton, is preparing to marry Elizabeth Strafford, a young woman from a ranching family. However, after Jacob returns home and reveals that he will be pushing the cattle up the mountains so that they can survive the summer, Jack decides to postpone the wedding. Elizabeth is disheartened and reacts badly to Jack’s decisions but comes to her senses after a pep talk from Cara. Elsewhere, at a Catholic Boarding School for Native Americans, a young woman named Teonna faces abuse at the hands of Sister Mary and Father Renaud.

After reconciling with Elizabeth, Jack prepares for the cattle drive with his father and grand-uncle. The ranchers plan to push the cattle up the mountains for three days, hold them there for a couple of days, and journey back in the final two days of their trip. The Dutton men bid farewell to their family and head into the pastures for the drive. On the other hand, Banner secretly plans to sabotage the Duttons and grazes his sheep in their pastures. However, Jack discovers the treachery. A mysterious figure shoots at Jack before he can convey the news to Jacob and John.

In Africa, Spencer travels to a safari camp on a new assignment. However, on the train, he experiences an episode of PTSD. Later, Spencer meets a British woman and her husband, who has recently arrived in Africa. Spencer reveals that he is at the camp to hunt down a leopard that is eating tourists. With the help of his crew, Spencer sets up a trap for the leopard using a goat but believes that the animal might seek more of a challenge. Meanwhile, Cara finishes her chores and worries about Spencer. She writes him a letter as Spencer prepares to kill the leopard.

1923 Episode 1 Ending: Will Spencer Die? Will He Return to the Yellowstone Ranch?

The episode’s final act sees Spencer traveling across Africa to deal with a leopard that is terrorizing a safari camp. Meanwhile, Cara is forced to face her emotions after the Dutton men leave the ranch for a week-long trip. Despite Jacob, John, and Jack not being home, the family member that Cara misses is Spencer. Therefore, she writes Spencer a letter. She asks Spencer about his well-being and wonders whether he will return home to his family.

Meanwhile, in Africa, Spencer sets a trap for the leopard. The episode establishes Spencer as a man troubled by his experiences in war. However, they also make him a capable hunter. Earlier in the episode, Spencer kills a lion, but he is almost killed in the process. In the end, Spencer sets up a similar trap to hunt down the leopard. However, Spencer’s crew warns him that a leopard is a much smarter predator than a lion.

At night, Spencer stays on the watch, waiting for the leopard to swoop in and take the bait. However, the leopard attacks the British woman near the camp. Spencer waits for the right moment to kill the animal as it eats its prey in the distance. Meanwhile, another leopard takes the bait. Spencer’s crew is alarmed and rushes to inform him. However, Spencer has already killed the leopard he believes is the threat. The other leopard attacks Spencer before he can walk away from the scene.

The episode ends without revealing Spencer’s fate. Moreover, Cara’s emotional letter to Spencer and imploration to come home imply that a tragedy is in the making for the youngest son of James Dutton. While it is unlikely that Spencer will die so early in the show, his grueling experiences in Africa might pave the road for his return to the Yellowstone Ranch. Nonetheless, viewers will have to stay tuned to receive a definitive answer about Spencer’s fate.

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'1923' Premiere Recap: 'Yellowstone' Prequel Hints at a Major Dutton Death

The prequel series introduced Jacob, Cara and a new class of Duttons to the 'Yellowstone' lore on Sunday's Paramount+ premiere.

Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you have not watched the series premiere of Paramount+ 's  1923 .

Did  1923   just hint at a major Dutton death? The  Yellowstone   prequel launched Sunday on Paramount+ , introducing Harrison Ford 's Jacob and  Helen Mirren 's Cara Dutton, John Dutton III's ( Kevin Costner) great-great uncle and great-great aunt, as well as a new cast of characters to the franchise. But one of the main members of the Dutton family may not be long for this world.

Narrated by the late Elsa ( 1883 's Isabel May), who died in the  1883  finale after being shot by an arrow,  the prequel issues a tragic warning for this generation of the Dutton clan, hinting that one of her two surviving brothers will die before the series is over. 

"My father had three children," Elsa says in voiceover early in the episode, referring to herself and her siblings, John Sr. (James Badge Dale) and Spencer (Brandon Sklenar). (Their parents are James and Margaret Dutton, who were played by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in 1883 .) "Only one would live to see their own children grow. Only one would carry the fate of this family through the Depression and every other hell the 20th century hurled at them."

The ominous tease raises a lot of questions for 1923 over which of Elsa's brothers, who were raised by Jacob like his own children after he found a widowed Margaret frozen to death, will be the one to perish and the circumstances that lead to his eventual death. In the first episode, there are barely any hints as to whether it's John, who spends much of the episode serving as Jacob's right-hand man, or Spencer, a World War I vet who left home some years ago and is in Nairobi hunting the wildlife that's been terrorizing various camps. 

Because the first episode ends on a shocking cliffhanger -- a wild leopard unexpectedly pounces on Spencer during one of his midnight stake-outs -- it's natural for one to think that he is the Dutton brother whose mortality clock may be ticking. Considering the story is just beginning, we're not 100 percent sold... yet.

While this 1923 mystery will be one to track as the Yellowstone prequel carries on, the premiere episode sets the table for what's to come. 

Jacob and Cara Dutton 

As Elsa narrates, Jacob and Cara came into the picture after the death of her father, James. Her mother, Margaret, wrote to Jacob pleading with him to bring his family to Montana to save hers and when he arrived, he and Cara raised John Sr. and Spencer as their own after finding their mother frozen to death. Jacob took James' dream and turned Yellowstone ranch "into an empire," but then, as Elsa warns, "the empire crumbled." 

In present-day  1923 , Jacob discovers cattle and sheep are dying and they don't know what's killing them. At a local hearing in the city center, an Irish rancher and sheep herder Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) expresses his suspicions over what's killing his sheep, and he and Jacob -- who also holds office as a commissioner -- have a tense exchange in the town hall. Outside, Banner confronts Jacob over the livelihood of his stock and it's clear he's going to be a problem.

While Jacob and his men prepare to drive their cattle up the mountain so they can survive the summer, Cara attempts to busy herself as she worries over whether her husband will come home safely. During a late night trek, Banner tells his men to cut the wires after they reach the border of the Duttons' claimed land -- knowing full well the repercussions of his decision will likely start a war. As they cut through the barbed wire, they shuffle their sheep through, opening up a whole can of worms. 

Spencer Dutton

After serving in WWI, Spencer finds himself in Africa, where his nomadic existence leads him to hunting down wild leopards and lions that are posing a danger to others settling in the African safari. Though it's unclear why he chose to distance himself from the rest of the Duttons back at the Yellowstone ranch, it's obvious he's still experiencing trauma from his time out on the battlefield. After having another violent nightmare, Spencer nearly shoots an innocent train conductor when he arrives at the Nairobi station.

Meanwhile, Cara writes a letter to Spencer, adding context as to why he's in Africa and not in Montana with the rest of the family, imploring him to return home while also updating him on all that is happening at the ranch. There's a sense of urgency and confusion in her words, implying that Spencer left under non-ideal circumstances. "When the house is full and the ranch is busy, I can lose myself in the hurry of it and forget you're not here," Cara writes, as Jacob and the others are off driving the cattle. "But the house is empty, I have no chores left and so I think of you and wonder why. Why won't you come home to us?"

"I can't help but think that your absence is punishment, that somehow we are the reason you won't return," she continues on. "That's selfish, I suppose; war changes men. I can only assume you are seeking a part of yourself you lost. And I can only pray that you find it and come back to us."

During his adventures in Nairobi, Spencer and his two men think they're capturing one wild leopard on their latest job, but as they soon discover, it's actually two . After a married woman   openly flirts with Spencer at dinner hours earlier, Spencer sees her leave her tent late in the evening to relieve herself. After taking his eyes off her for a few seconds, he notices she's gone. One of the leopards silently attacked her in those few seconds as Spencer would discover moments later, discovering her bloodied, lifeless body on the ground after shooting the leopard dead.

But, Spencer has no time to rest as those seconds turn out to vital, as he's warned about a second leopard with no time to spare. By the time he learns the information, it's too late, as he turns around only to be met with the leopard attacking  him . 

Jack Dutton 

The eldest son of John Sr. and his wife, Emma (Marley Shelton), Jack (Darren Mann) is engaged to be married to Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph) on a Wednesday. However, issues regarding the cattle force their wedding to be postponed another week (or two), as Jack joins Jacob, John Sr. and the others to drive the cows up over the mountain so they won't die. Of course, the actual conversation between Jack and his bride-to-be about delaying the wedding another week goes about as well as you'd expect, with Elizabeth hysterical that he'd choose cattle over her. 

Knowing full well that Jack would not be able to handle the situation well, Cara comes to the rescue and talks Elizabeth down, telling her that she must understand that the cattle always come first but there is a freedom to that if she chooses to that life. "You will be free in a way that most people can barely conceive," Cara pitches to the young bride. "You have to want more than the boy, you have to want the life too because in this life there's no debating which is more important -- the wedding or the cattle -- it's always the cattle."

Whatever Cara says works as Elizabeth tells her she'll "learn" how to be a rancher's wife. The matter of the wedding postponement is settled, as Jack and Elizabeth will now get married two weeks from Saturday. As the two lovebirds passionately reunite after their fight, Elizabeth's dad, Bob (Tim DeKay), and Jacob look on. Bob says a remark about the young couple, who are very much in love, and Jacob hints that whatever comes from their union, that he must not question it -- especially when it comes to pregnancies and babies. Is  1923  hinting that Elizabeth is already or will be pregnant very soon (possibly to John Dutton II, John Dutton III's father)?

"In my experience, Bob, when the first baby comes you don't want to be too picky with your math on the calendar," Jacob tells his fellow rancher, who's seems less than enthused that his daughter is marrying Jack. Soon after the wedding is officially delayed, Jack joins the group in driving the cattle up the mountain. Not long after they embark on their weeks-long trek, Jack faces his first big test when he discovers Banner Creighton's herd of sheep have crossed into their territory. 

Teonna and Sister Mary

Elsewhere, Teonna (Aminah Nieves) -- a young woman attending a residential boarding school for Native Americans -- suffers abuse at the hands of Sister Mary (Jennifer Ehle) and later, headmaster Father Renaud (Sebastian Roche). The excruciating moment comes after she fails to correctly answer a question asked by Sister Mary in the classroom and talks back at her, prompting the sister to continuously beat Teonna's hands raw. Teonna reaches her limit, punching Sister Mary multiple times before she and Sister Mary are brought to Father Renaud's office.

At first, it appears Father Renaud is on Teonna's side, punishing the nun by beating her hands red with a wooden paddle. And when Teonna pleads with him to have mercy on Sister Mary, he warns her with a menacing look not to undermine her (and him) ever again. "I understand your desire to lash out at a sister who lacks compassion, but you lash out, all will lash out," he threatens, before asking her to face the bookshelves for her own form of punishment as he prepares to punish her too. "I have compassion for you my child, I do... I have compassion but I have no mercy." Father Renaud proceeds to hit her with the wooden paddle multiple times, her piercing screams of pain echoing through the hallway. 

Later at the bath, the severity of Teonna's injuries are revealed -- and it's devastating to see her in pain as she tries to clean herself. When Sister Mary approaches her during inspection, blood trickles down Teonna's legs from the rawness of Father Renaud's beatings. The sister and Teonna are at a mutual understanding now; that they both need to steer clear of his office. At bedtime, Teonna shows a friend the scarring that's starting to show on her legs from her punishment and she says she plans to put honey and cedar sap to hopefully help with the scarring as no man will want to marry her if he sees the extent of her injuries. Teonna, though, has her eye on the big picture, wondering why they haven't received any letters from friends or family, suggesting that they never made it home to write them. Her goal now is clear: Get out before it's too late.

New episodes of  1923  drop Sundays on Paramount+. Paramount Network will have a special airing of the 1923 premiere on Sunday, Dec. 18 following Yellowstone . The second episode will air Jan. 1 on the network after the  Yellowstone midseason finale.

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‘1923’ Cast and Character Guide: Who’s Who in the ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel? (Photos)

The Taylor Sheridan universe is expanding

Taylor Sheridan’s rich television universe, which began with the runaway success “Yellowstone” (still the most popular show on TV) and continued with last year’s folksy frontier tale “1883” continues with “1923.” We’re further along on the Dutton family timeline and the same problems that seem to beset each generation continues here: greed, violence and a quest (perhaps foolhardy) to maintain the ways of the past.

But who plays who and how do they fit into the larger “Yellowstone” tapestry? Read our compete cast and character guide to find out:

Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton

Ford, in his first major television role, plays Jacob Dutton, who is the brother of James Dutton (Tim McGraw from “1883”). He is the patriarch of the Yellowstone Ranch, which we will come to know (and love) in “Yellowstone.” 

Ford is perhaps best known from his work in the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises but has also been seen in films like “Witness,” “Patriot Games,” “Blade Runner,” “The Fugitive,” “Air Force One” and “The Mosquito Coast.”

Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton

Mirren, who mixed adventures on the small screen with big screen outings long before it was cool, plays Cara Dutton, Jacob Dutton’s wife and the fierce matriarch of the Yellowstone Ranch. In the opening scene of the series, she is killing somebody with a shotgun. So that’s cool.

Mirren is a legendary actress (and a Dame!) and has appeared in “The Long Good Friday,” “Excalibur,” “2010,” “Gosford Park,” “The Queen,” “Hitchcock” and is a recent addition to the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Darren Mann as Jack Dutton

Mann plays Jack Dutton, John Dutton Sr’s son and great-nephew to Jacob Dutton. Jack is a rancher at Yellowstone, deeply dedicated to his job and his family.

Mann has appeared in the film “The Minute You Wake Up Dead” and the American TV series “Animal Kingdom,” both earlier this year.

James Badge Dale as John Dutton, Sr.

Dale plays John Dutton, Sr., who is James Dutton’s son and the oldest nephew of Jacob Dutton. He was taken in by Jacob after his father and mother were both killed. (On “Yellowstone,” Kevin Costner is John Dutton III.) 

Badge Dale is one of the greatest character actors working today and has put in memorable appearances in “Iron Man 3,” “The Lone Ranger,” “The Departed,” “The Grey,” “Hold the Dark” and “The Empty Man.”

Marley Shelton as Emma Dutton

Shelton plays Emma Dutton, the wife of John Dutton Sr. and the mother of Jack.

Shelton has shown up in “Never Been Kissed,” “Pleasantville,” “Sin City,” “Death Proof,” “Planet Terror,” “Scream 4” and the new “Scream” that came out earlier this year.

Brian Geraghty as Zane

Geraghty plays Zane, a cowboy on the Yellowstone Ranch and basically the old timey (perhaps less outwardly psychopathic) version of Rip.

You’ve seen Geraghty in “The Hurt Locker,” “The Standoff at Sparrow Creek” (with James Badge Dale!) and on TV shows like “Big Sky” and “Gaslit.”

Aminah Nieves as Teonna

Nieves plays one of the show’s more interesting characters – an indigenous girl at the School for American Indians in Montana. How she factors into the bigger story remains to be seen.

A relative unknown, Nieves appeared in horror anthology “V/H/S/99” earlier this year.

Jennifer Ehle as Sister Mary

Ehle plays Sister Mary, a nun at the School for American Indians. And she’s not one of those happy nuns either, she’s one of those “beat you with a ruler” nuns.

You’ll remember Ehle from “The King’s Speech,” “Contagion,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” the “Fifty Shades of Grey” sequels, “Detroit” and “Saint Maud.” She can currently be seen in “She Said.”

Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton

Sklenar plays Spencer Dutton, Jacob Dutton’s youngest nephew and John Dutton Sr.’s brother. Spencer has witnessed the horrors of World War I and instead of returning to the ranch, he sets off to hunt wild game in Africa. These sequences (at least in the pilot) are some of the strangest but also the most striking and it’ll be interesting to see how he factors in.

Sklenar has been in movies like “Midway” and “Vice” and TV shows like “Westworld” and “Walker: Independence.”

Robert Patrick as Sheriff William McDowell

Patrick plays the local sheriff, who is friendly with the Duttons (Jacob is a livestock agent). Perhaps a little too friendly? Some of the town certainly thinks so.

Patrick is a legendary tough guy character actors perhaps still best known as the T-1000 in James Cameron’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” He’s also appeared in movies like “Cop Land,” “The Faculty” and “Flags of Our Fathers” and on TV shows like “The X-Files” (he was Duchovney’s replacement, Agent Doggett) and “True Blood.”

Timothy Dalton as Donald Whitfield

Dalton plays Donald Whitfield, a man who doesn’t appear in the first episode but is described as powerful, wealthy and morally nebulous. Sounds like he’ll be the big bad this season! 

Dalton played 007 in two James Bond movies (“The Living Daylights” and “License to Kill”), as well as movies like “Flash Gordon,” “The Rocketeer” and “Hot Fuzz.” He’s also the voice of Mr. Pricklepants in the ongoing “Toy Story” franchise.

Here's where you might recognize the cast of the 'Yellowstone' spin-off '1923' from

• The new Paramount+ series "1923" premieres on Sunday.
• The  "Yellowstone" prequel series stars Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford as a new generation of Duttons.
• The drama has plenty of other stars who you might recognize from other shows.

Harrison Ford leads the series as Jacob Dutton, who has taken over the running of the ranch from his brother.

Per the show's official synopsis, it focuses on a new generation of Duttons and explores the early 20th century when pandemics, historic droughts, the end of prohibition, and the Great Depression all plagued the mountain west.

Viewers will find out just why Jacob has replaced his brother James, who was played by country star Tim McGraw in the earlier prequel "1883," in the new episodes.

Ford has had many memorable roles over the years, from Han Solo in the "Star Wars" saga to Indiana Jones in the "Indiana Jones" franchise.

The 80-year-old actor is also known for playing Rick Deckard in "Blade Runner" (1982), Dr. Richard Kimble in "The Fugitive" (1993), and Jack Ryan in "Patriot Games" (1992) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994).

According to his IMDb page, Ford has starred in more than 80 films and television shows since beginning  his career  at the age of 24 in 1966.

Helen Mirren takes on the role of Jacob's loyal wife, Cara Dutton.

Mirren and Ford last played a couple on-screen 36 years ago in the film "The Mosquito Coast" (1986). 

In the series, Cara has an Irish accent, meaning that she has immigrated to America. Speaking to Vanity Fair earlier this month, she said: "One of the things I very strongly wanted was that she would speak with an Irish accent, not with an American accent."

"It's always slightly annoyed me with Westerns that you have all these people speaking with modern American accents when in fact so many of them were fairly recent immigrants."

Mirren is perhaps most famous for portraying Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen" (2006).

She received an Oscar and a BAFTA for her performance in the royal drama. Interestingly, Mirren has played three British monarchs on-screen and is the only person to have portrayed both Queen Elizabeths as she also starred in the miniseries "Elizabeth I."

The 77-year-old star will also be familiar to viewers as she starred as Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw in the "Fast and Furious" franchise, Mrs. Wilson in "Gosford Park" (2001), and Alma Reville in "Hitchcock" (2012).

This week, she surprised audiences by lending her voice to the  trailer of the upcoming "Barbie" movie.

Timothy Dalton is playing Donald Whitfield, who appears to be the main antagonist in the series.

As viewers will have worked out from the show's trailer, Whitfield is a powerful, self-confident man who, having already acquired the neighboring property to the Duttons, has now set his eyes on the Yellowstone ranch.

Dalton was famously the fourth actor to portray the fictional secret agent James Bond.

He took over from his predecessor Roger Moore and appeared as 007  in the films "The Living Daylights" (1987) and "Licence to Kill" (1989). 

However, viewers will have perhaps also seen him in "Flash Gordon" (1980), "Hot Fuzz" (2007), and the recent fifth season of Netflix's  "The Crown."

Sister Mary, one of the nuns who teach at the boarding school, is played by Jennifer Ehle.

Like Cara, Sister Mary is also Irish and she teaches at the school for American Indians in Montana.

Ehle famously starred in the 1995 BBC miniseries "Pride and Prejudice."

Ehle played Elizabeth Bennet in the adaptation of the Jane Austen romance opposite Colin Firth.

She is also known for her roles in "The King's Speech" (2010), "Contagion" (2011), "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012), and "She Said" (2022). She has also appeared in NBC's "The Blacklist," and the CBS legal drama "The Good Fight."

Jerome Flynn plays Banner Creighton, who is the leader of the local sheepmen.

Banner is described as a hard-headed Scot who is seen clashing with Jacob over ownership of cattle and teaming up with Whitfield for revenge.

Flynn will be recognizable to viewers who watched "Game of Thrones" as he played Bronn in the hit HBO series.

Bronn featured in all eight seasons of the fantasy drama as one of Tyrion Lannister's (Peter Dinklage) mercenaries. Most memorably at the Battle of Blackwater in season two, he launched the flaming arrow that destroys Stannis Baratheon's (Stephen Dillane) fleet, earning him the moniker Ser Bronn of the Blackwater.

Flynn's other roles include an episode of the dystopian drama "Black Mirror," the BBC series "Ripper Street," and the third film in the "John Wick," franchise, "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum."

Michelle Randolph stars as Elizabeth Strafford, a young woman set to marry into the Dutton family.

Elizabeth is described as a feisty and capable young woman who is engaged to Jack, Jacob and Cara's nephew. She lives near the family in Montana.

Randolph doesn't have many credits to her name, but "1923" is sure to make her a name to know.

Just like Isobel May, who starred in "1883," we've got a feeling that Randolph will become one of the breakout stars of the series.

She has previously starred in the festive movie "A Snow White Christmas" (2018), the horror film "The Resort" (2021), and the thriller "The Undertaker's Wife" (2021).

James Badge Dale plays John Dutton Sr., the oldest nephew and right-hand man of Jacob Dutton.

 John is the only "1923" character who was first introduced to viewers in "1883." He was previously portrayed as a little boy by the child actor Audie Rick.

Viewers might know Dale from playing Chase Edmunds in the action drama "24."

He is also known for portraying Robert Leckie in the series"The Pacific," State Trooper Barrigan in Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" (2006), and Savin in "Iron Man 3" (2013).

Darren Mann will play Jack Dutton, the youngest Dutton family member.

Jack is John Dutton Sr.'s son and great-nephew to Jacob Dutton. He is a dedicated rancher who is deeply loyal to his family but is also having to deal with the expectations and responsibilities of becoming a husband for the first time.

Mann was recently seen in the family drama "Animal Kingdom" and the Netflix series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."

Viewers might also recognize Mann from the TV series "Fortunate Son," and the film "Giant Little Ones" (2018).

Interestingly, he also starred in the TV movie "House of the Witch" (2017) alongside his on-screen bride, Randolph. The film focused on a group of high-school kids whose Halloween prank at an abandoned house backfires when they awaken a demonic witch.

Aminah Nieves plays a Native American character by the name of Teonna Rainwater.

As we learn from the trailer, Teonna is an ancestor of the "Yellowstone" character Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham).

In "1923" she attends the government residential boarding school for Native American young women run by the Catholic church.

Nieves is a relative newcomer to the world of acting and only has a few credits to her name, but viewers might remember seeing her in "V/H/S/99" (2022).

In the latest installment of the much-loved found-footage horror franchise, she plays a character named Charissa in the segment "Shredding" which opens the anthology film and follows a female band who becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery behind the gruesome deaths of their heroes.

Nieves has also appeared in the romance "Blueberry" (2021).

Brandon Sklenar plays Spencer Dutton, John's younger brother who has witnessed the horrors of World War I.

Spencer is shown to have abandoned his role on the ranch, and instead is spending some time working as a hunter-for-hire in Africa. 

You may know Sklenar from another Paramount+ drama, "The Offer" in which he portrays actor Burt Reynolds.

Sklenar's other television credits include "Westworld," and "Walker: Independence." He also starred alongside Aubrey Plaza in the film "Emily the Criminal."

Brian Geraghty plays Zane Davis, a ranch foreman working at Yellowstone.

His storyline for the new series isn't clear just yet, but we know his loyalties lie with the Duttons.

Geraghty is known for his recurring role in the HBO drama series "Boardwalk Empire."

He has also starred in a number of blockbuster films, including "Jarhead" (2005) and "The Hurt Locker" (2008).

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1923 Recap: Grade the Premiere of Yellowstone ‘s Latest Prequel

Kimberly roots, editor-in-chief.

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1923 , the newest Yellowstone prequel, picks up 40 years after the events of 1883 . And though the Dutton family is doing considerably better from when we left it on the Oregon Trail, life is still a tiring, dusty, hard-won battle.

In a moment, we’ll want to know what you thought of the premiere. But first, let’s recap the highlights.

The hour opens with a scared man running from someone or something. A shot fired in his direction send him sprawling on the ground, and soon we see who fired it: A woman we’ll later learn is Cara Dutton (played by The Queen ‘s Helen Mirren). He begs her to wait, telling her she’ll never get into Heaven if she kill shim. “What do you know about Heaven?” she wonders, and goes to finish him off but realizes too late that she needs to reload. While she does, he scrambles to shoot her , but she’s faster. She kills him, screams to the sky, then walks away.

“Violence has always haunted this family,” a voiceover informs us, and if you watched 1883 , you’ll recognize the speaker as Elsa (aka Isabel May), who’s maybe piped in from the Great Beyond? She says violence followed the Duttons to America from Europe, “and where it doesn’t follow, we hunt it down. We seek it.”

WHAT HAPPENED TO JAMES, MARGARET & CO.? | Elsa gives us an update on the Dutton family of 1883 , and — Spoiler Alert — it ain’t pretty. “My father had three children. Only one would live to see their own children grow,” she says. “Only one would carry the fate of this family through the Depression and every other hell the 20th century hurled at them.”

We know from 1883 ’s finale that she was the first of the kids to go. She had a brother, John, who was a little boy when the family settled in Montana. Regular Yellowstone viewers will remember that Spencer, James and Margaret’s third child, was born after the events of the prequel and first showed up in a Season 4 flashback.

“Upon my father’s death” — which we also saw in a Yellowstone flashback — “my mother wrote to his brother, begging that he bring his family to this wild land and save hers,” Elsa continues. “A year later, he arrived to find my mother frozen in a snow drift and two boys, half-starved and barely able to speak. He raised them as his own and took my father’s dream and made it into an empire. Then the empire crumbled.” Welp, now we know what happened to Margaret. Is it weird that I’m sad?

A sheep herder named Banner Creighton ( Game of Thrones ’ Jerome Flynn) is really angry as about the dead sheep — who apparently were slaughtered — as things get underway. When Jacob points out that no one knows who killed the animals, Banner (who hails from Scotland) accuses a group of Irish farmers of doing it, and then a fight breaks out.

Sheriff McDowell stops the fisticuffs by shooting his gun in the air and yelling for everyone to cool it. The matter at hand soon becomes apparent: There’s limited grazing land for the sheep, but when they roam (or are driven) onto other people’s property, they ruin the grass for other animals, which basically guts the livelihood of the property owners (aka the lease holders). “Until it rains, there’ll be no grazing in the valley,” Jacob pronounces, advising Banner and his ilk to graze their sheep in the mountains and/or sell off some of their stock if they’ve got too many. “Sell ‘em to who?” the Scot scoffs, but Jacob is unmoved, saying they’ve all got to work together or they’ll be heading back to Britain in shambles. And when an unrelenting Banner yells that the Duttons have a ton of land, Jacob’s anger sparks. “I have what my family fought for. You wanna fight me for it, too?” he spits. “I didn’t think so. If you wanted more land, you should’ve leased more.” Then the gavel bangs, ending the meeting.

Much later, under cover of night, we see Banner and his sheep men cut a barbed wire fence in order to let their flock pass onto someone’s private property and graze.

Soon, both are bloody, bruised and standing before the head priest, Father Renaud (Supernatural ‘s Sebastian Roche). When he susses out what happened, he mangles the nun’s hands while making her recite a Bible verse; the student is so traumatized to witness it, she cries out for him to stop. “You beat the child and yet she begs for mercy on your behalf,” he says, amused. “Perhaps she should be the teacher.” But before you start to think that there’s maybe justice in this place, he warns her that her lashing out will cause others to want to do so. Then he touches her face in a creepy manner, has her stand against his bookshelves and warns her, “I have compassion, but I have no mercy” as he beats her, too.

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After a harrowing bathing scene in which the nuns give step-by-step washing instructions to a room full of naked students, the beaten girl, Teonna (newcomer Aminah Nieves) and her friend whisper to each other from their beds. Teonna’s friend says they only have one more year left at the school, then they can leave. Teonna points out that everyone they’ve known who’s left has never been heard from again, and she fears the worst. She is very serious as she whispers that they have to get out.

The boss is, of course, Cara, who welcomes him when he slides into bed. She’s dismayed to hear about the postponement but says she’ll talk to the bride’s mother and get things sorted. “Wedding’s for the woman, Jake. If it were for men, we would have spat on our hands, and shook on it, and then you would’ve bent me over the first thing you could find that would hold our weight,” she quips. “Not far from how it happened,” he deadpans, making her laugh.

The next day, Jack breaks the news to his future wife Elizabeth (newcomer Michelle Randolph), who doesn’t take it well. So Cara sweeps in to smooth things over, gently informing the younger woman (who went East for school and therefore has been a bit insulated from the tough life of a ranch woman) that this is kinda how it is: “You have to want more than the boy. You have to want the life, too.” Elizabeth is definitely upset, but she’s also very much in love with Jack. “I don’t know the life, but I will learn it,” she vows. So they reset the wedding date to two weeks hence, and Elizabeth asks Cara to take her to see Jack, with whom she has a smooch-filled make-up.

The cattle drive, attended by Jacob, Jack and a bunch of other men from the ranch, starts the next day. Jack rides ahead and finds sheep grazing where the herds are heading, and then a man shoots at him.

ON THE PROWL | Back to Africa! A train pulls into the station in Nairobi, Kenya, and the hunter ( Westworld ‘s Brandon Sklenar) we saw near the top of the show is dozing in his seat. He dreams of being on the battlefield in World War I, shooting at the enemy but unable to fall back when needed because he has a broken leg. An enemy soldier gets too close so the hunter beats at him with his helmet. Another combatant is suddenly on top of him with a gun… and that’s when the hunter wakes up to realize he’s pulled a weapon on the train’s conductor, who was trying to let him know they’d arrived. The hunter apologizes and tips the conductor for the scare, explaining, “I don’t wake well.” The man is a little rattled, but he quips, “No sir, I’d say you don’t.”

The hunter disembarks and winds up at a posh safari camp. He’s there to hunt down a leopard that’s been tormenting the wealthy white people who pay to spend vacation in the great outdoors; it seems like the cat has already attacked a human. “Once they get a taste for man, man’s all they want to eat,” he observes, and shuns any animal bait because and his assistants will serve as the bait. (For the record, this seems to be the first time his assistants have heard of this plan.)

When the camp’s director refers to the hunter as “Dutton,” we get a clue about his identity. Later, as Cara writes a letter to her missing nephew, we realize that he’s John’s brother, Spencer. “Why won’t you come home to us?” she wonders via voiceover. “We can’t help but think your absence is punishment, that somehow we are the reason you won’t return. That’s selfish, I suppose. War changes men, I know. I can only assume you are seeking the part of yourself you lost, and I can only pray that you find it and come back to us.”

In the meantime, Spencer is busy getting hit on by a rich, blonde Brit safari-goer whose charms he doesn’t seem to care much about. And that’s convenient, seeing as how she becomes leopard fodder when she exits her tent to pee that evening. The cat drags her up a tree to eat her, and when Spencer shoots the animal, the blonde falls to the ground with a sickening thunk, her neck clearly broken. But just then, Spencer’s assistants realize that there are two leopards stalking the camp. And as they shout as much to him, something (ostensibly the cat?) rushes up behind Dutton. He turns, and the scene cuts to black.

Now it’s your turn. Grade the premiere via the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts on the new series!

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29 comments.

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A little confusing, but that forced me to focus. I enjoyed it, though, and I’ll be back for the next episode! Always a pleasure to see Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren!

I enjoyed it but it was a tad confusing. I think it would have been better if they had 2 episodes just so we could get a better understanding of who’s who and lay a better foundation. I found the Native girls/Catholic nun scenes very difficult to watch. I’ll definitely be watching next week though. It was so nice to hear Isabel May (Elsa) narrate to fill in some of the gaps. I hope she continues. . Interesting poll. As of now, half like it and half truly don’t. Hopefully that will improve as the episodes continue.

Will not give up just yet because I love all the other shows he does. Was not impressed with what I saw, Ford and Mirren seemed like secondary characters. Mostly I just thought it was boring, especially the scenes with the priest, nun, and girl. Also, the outcome of the soon to be married ranch hand seemed telegraphed from a mile away.

This was so boring it didn’t keep my attention. I hope it improves but so far, I’m not invested in the characters.

please post a family-tree including picture here on tvline. that would be really helpful

Harrison Ford’s character is the brother of Tim McGraw’s character. I think I read that makes him a lot of great uncles down the list to Kevin Costners character. Had to look it up this morning, was confusing to me because originally they said it would be one of the sons but it’s only been 40 years so the age difference didn’t add up.

Harrison Ford (Jacob) is Tim McGraw’s (James) brother…John and Spencer are James’ sons who were raised by Jacob and his wife Cara (Helen Mirren)…Jack (the young guy getting married) is John’s son and Kevin Costner’s (John III) grandfather.

Google it. LOL I had to, as there were so many different characters and so many storylines going on!

I was sad about Margaret also. I thought she would have lived to a rip old age. She didn’t take no mess

To die frozen in a snow drift us too awful

I will admit I was predisposed to liking this, since I loved 1883 so much. And with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren I’m willing to give it every opportunity to hook me. I’m pretty hooked already. So sad to hear about Margaret’s death tho.

Absolutely loved 1923. Still trying to figure out the lineage. The actor who played Spencer is WOW!! Good actor and the best looking of the Duttons so far. Trying to figure out what conflict he was in, and the timeline with the Dutton family kept me on the edge of the seat. Loved Cara’s character.

The conflict was WWI. A truly horrible war that is often overshadowed by WWII. I am going back to the family tree and the cemetery scenes from last week with Summer and Monica to pause and try to read the tombstones better. I think I saw Spencer’s name on one.

I agree Spencer is Wow! Love his blue eyes. RuthieHe was in WWI. Cara, Helen Mirren, is tough. She has been through a lot.

Glad you showed how the indigenous people were really treated and unjustly suffered trying to “civilize” them! This dark stain of American history has been swept under the rug far too long! Nice cliffhangers at the end too!

…Swept under the rug??? EVERYONE knows and acknowledges Native American maltreatment!

in 1883 James and family headed to Montana? was Clara Dutton, James sister or Margaret sister? Clara carried the Dutton name on the show. But 1923 is confusing at the start . I did listen to Elsa narrating .

Clara Dutton is Jacob Dutton’s wife.

Jacob Dutton is John Dutton’s brother. He is the uncle to Elsa, John and Spencer.

Jack Dutton is John Dutton’s son. Jack Dutton is also John Dutton’s (from Yellowstone) grandfather.

very good, but it’s going on Paramount+, so I won’t be able to watch it. My cable bill is $200, i’m not going to add any streaming services to that.

Right! I’m over it. The Dutton’s murder on a regular basis, past and present. Beth turns me completely off. The men are fine as heck though…but I’m not paying any more to see a bunch of people I couldn’t care less about anymore. It was good at first. Loved 1883. Now, I see the bodies racking up and we’re supposed to be okay with it. Beth’s foul mouth and trashy disposition and her being celebrated for it. Ugh

I love Yellowstone and it’s 2 prequels! And I love Beth’s character!

I’m tired of Paramount giving us the first one or two episodes of a series and then switching to Paramount + . I’ll forget about a series rather than pay for it.

It was always supposed to be streaming on Paramount+. Last night was just a little lagniappe showing it after Yellowstone on regular Paramount.

Ya might want to change the beginning of your synopsis a little just to save face…those supposed dead (sheep) in the field that you say Harrison Ford was lookin’ over were cattle…(NOT SHEEP)!!!

Disappointed. Thought we’d not have to endure Elsa’s narrations anymore.

I was disappointed. Felt like a cross between a Bonanza episode and a bad Hallmark movie. Even good acting can’t save a disjointed storyline. Have the critics seen future episodes? Wondering if it gets better.

Still waiting for an explanation as to how a woman who’s been dead for 40 years can narrate the show. This ain’t “Sunset Blvd.”

I love Taylor’s story lines but have a hard time with the F word being used so frequently!!

I didn’t see all of 1883, it’s nice to see How the Dutton Family came about. As I look at Harrison Ford character I can see his nephew in Yellowstone that it seems to always be a fight. Which was the way of the west. Harsh. I grew up during slave times that was bad too. I didn’t like how the Native Americans girls were treated by the Nuns, religion I thought they taught love. The girls were taken from their parents because I didn’t see any. I did enjoy 1923 I’m kind confused on family tree. When it comes to the name Jack, I’m trying to figure out how John Sr came about when his Sons name is Jack, ??? Then later I read it’s a nickname. So the baby of Jack’s he’s suppose to have will be the Father of John lll the Yellowstone yes, yes I’m gonna start the family tree over because I thought Tim McGraw would have been a few great great as grand parents Help me. lol thank you.

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‘1923’ Season 2: Everything To Know About Taylor Sheridan’s Enduring ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel (Update For June 2024)

A Yellowstone star has promised that the Taylor Sheridan flagship series will have the greatest finale in TV history. Whether or not that’s the case, there are still handfuls of other Sheridan shows ongoing and more Yellowstone spin offs in the future. Currently, the 1923 prequel is preparing to tell more of the Dutton family history by way of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. Oh yes, the ranch was always under threat in some shape and form.

To briefly sum up what’s out there in this universe already, 1883 aired for a final season, and 6666 , 1944 , and 2024 are in various stages of preparation. 1923 brought us the story of Jacob and Cara Dutton, and the show was so successful that Paramount and Sheridan decided that more stories were left to tell. What do we know about the sequel season so far?

In June, SkyShowtime CEO Monty Sarhon recently confirmed that not only has the show been filming, but instead of the July 2023 start date, according to Deadline , “They are filming a new season right now, Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are hard at work.” As for the “where,” production has been geographically scattered from Austin, Texas up into Butte, Montana , which likely points towards another expensive season . Ford and Mirren also needed to be re-signed for the new season, and production was delayed due to industry upheaval, so it’s been a long road since early 2022 renewal.

Upfront, Taylor Sheridan made it clear that the second 1923 season, while unforeseen, needed to happen and that it will also be the final rodeo for Cara and Jacob in this story. The family tree grew more twisted last season, particular with speculation that Elizabeth is Jack Dutton III’s grandmother, so ideally, a more solid lineage path will materialize before this show concludes. Her miscarriage, however, does present another wrinkle.

Naturally, Whitfield is still very much a threat and would love to get his hands on the Dutton ranch, so don’t expect him to be forgiving of debt. (Remember, the ranch is in jeopardy, y’all!) The show also needs to follow up on Teonna’s fate after that climactic outbreak of violence and fallout of the duel between Spencer and Alex’s ex-fiancé. Spencer Dutton is also the son to 1883 ‘s James and Margaret, and yes, so many loose threads still exist in this saga, and Taylor Sheridan is staying quiet on those subjects.

A-listers now flock to Taylor Sheridan shows, and Harrison Ford was both thrilled to join this prequel along with Mirren. Jennifer Carpenter ( Dexter ) has joined the cast , and Brandon Sklenar will reprise his role. Stay tuned on news about Michelle Randolph, Jerome Flynn, Aminah Nieves, Julia Schlaepfer, Brian Geraghty, Timothy Dalton, and Robert Patrick.

Release Date

In early 2023, the official green light arrived for the second season. The Hollywood strikes, of course, landed shortly afterward, so it looks likely that even though filming is ongoing (and especially with Taylor Sheridan overseeing about 80 TV shows), 1923 won’t return until 2025.

Not yet! Instead, Taylor Sheridan is here to talk about how he writes so many dang scripts.