1923
Starring: Harrison Ford (15 episodes), Helen Mirren (15 episodes), Brandon Sklenar (15 episodes), Julia Schlaepfer (15 episodes), Jerome Flynn (15 episodes), Darren Mann (15 episodes), Isabel May (voice)(15 episodes), Brian Geraghty (15 episodes), Aminah Nieves (15 episodes), Michelle Randolph (15 episodes), Caleb Martin (13 episodes), Robert Patrick (13 episodes), Sebastian Roche (10 episodes), Michael Spears (10 episodes), Timothy Dalton (9 episodes), Jamie McShane (9 episodes), Brian Konowal (9 episodes), Madison Elise Rogers (7 episodes), Jeremy Gauna (6 episodes), Joy Osmanski (6 episodes), Mark Daneri (6 episodes), Marley Shelton (5 episodes), Colt Brown (5 episodes), Ross Crain (5 episodes), Henry Emde (5 episodes), Remy Holt (5 episodes), Jennifer Carpenter (4 episodes), Jennifer Ehle (4 episodes), James Badge Dale (3 episodes), Bruce Davison (3 episodes), C. Thomas Howell (3 episodes), Virginia Gardner (3 episodes), Peter Stormare (1 episode)
Directed by: Ben Richardson (13 episodes), Guy Ferland (2 episodes)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama, Western
2022-2025
Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2
Summary: The Dutton family defends their ranch from overwhelming odds, while waiting word from Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), who they asked to return home from Africa.
Review:
Tim: After the stunning 1883, I couldn't wait to see where Taylor Sheridan would take the Dutton family next. I do think it's incredible how he's expanded the story of this one Montana family- we got the original series, Yellowstone, then the 10-episode 1883, and now we get to see the family in 1923. That's an epic Western tale. This series, which spanned two seasons doesn't quite reach the heights of the previous one. It's a very good series, but it had a few things that really frustrated me about it. It's one of those weird scenarios where it manages to be both one of the most compelling series on television, and yet, a slight disappointment. While the story is uneven across the 15 episodes, I still loved how this expanded the Dutton family's story even further. Also, I didn't love the 3-year wait between seasons!
Maybe I'll start with the Dutton story as a positive. As 1923 begins, we don't know any of these characters, not really. One kid from 1883 is grown up now, but everyone else, regardless of their family connections, is a new character we need to get to know. That's the genius of Taylor Sheridan's writing, is that as the series progresses, Jacob, Cara, Spencer, and the others become as important to us as any of the other Duttons in previous series. The series is blood, violent, surprising- the stakes feel high, anyone can die. It also continues Sheridan's insistence on highlighting the plight of marginalized people. I loved that. We get to see Montana as it's being developed, as the creeping of civilization threatens the ranch and the old ways of life. It's all quite fascinating to see this one family's story extend into a new decade.
One of the biggest challenges I had with the series is that it's a total bummer. Sheridan has never shied away from big deaths and gruesome violence, but it feels like everything was pushed to the extreme here. There's so many scenes of unnecessary sexual torture, abuse, and violence that it sometimes felt hard to watch. It's still television, so we're not necessarily pushing boundaries that the movies haven't already explored, but it's so visceral and awful that I often left episodes feeling a bit depressed. I know Sheridan was trying to depict the hardships of life in the 20s out West, but at least 1883 balanced the dark with some light. This series feels like it's far too much darkness and not enough hope. The big event that the series sets up is Spencer's return from Africa. It's a bit unrealistic, but it seems the entire Dutton family is focused on just holding on until Spencer can return home and set everything right. It sets him up as the savior of the family, but it felt a bit farfetched. And then, the series makes us wait until the last episode to actually see that happen! After the first season, I was ready to see Spencer return, and I had to wait episode after episode, calamity after calamity. By the time he returns, it's a lightning-quick ending, and then the series is over. The pacing, the story itself had some serious flaws in it. We wait 14 episodes, filled with the worst kind of humor behavior to see it all set to right, and then we get some serious tragedy in the last episode, too. That's fine, if Sheridan wanted to tell that story. But, this series is almost never fun. I'd never want to rewatch it, because it's so brutal and depressing.
As you'd expect, the cast is great. It was great fun to see Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren step into the head of the Dutton family roles. I really love and appreciate both actors and they got extensive screen time here. Both step up to the task and they are enjoyable. That being said, I was surprised that I liked Tim McGraw's performance better, in 1883. So, Ford and Mirren are good, but they fall behind Kevin Costner and McGraw in the enjoyable department. Some of that is the writing, for sure. The star of the series is absolutely Brandon Sklenar. I have no idea how Sheridan does this- Isabel May emerged as the best part of 1883, and here, again, a relatively unknown delivers a stunning, unforgettable performance. I loved the character of Spencer Dutton so much. He's complex, brave, world-weary. Sklenar brings so much out of this character. Every time we got scenes with Spencer, they felt significantly more exciting than the ones back at the Dutton ranch. Whether that's the wonderful sequences in Africa, the voyage across the Atlantic, or the trek across the United States- Spencer was the best part of this series and I desperately wish he had more screen time. I give Sklenar immense credit for his performance here, and I'll likely always like him as an actor because of it.
Julia Schlaepfer was fine as Alexandra. I thought she had some terrific moments, but there were others where she just annoyed me. I wish her performance had been a bit better at times. Timothy Dalton steps into an over-the-top villain role. I found most of his scenes awful to watch, because every second of screen time was designed to make us hate him. Dalton really embraces the darker side of this character. He doesn't get any redeeming qualities. I get it, but every time he showed up, the show was about to deliver something we didn't want to watch. Eventually, it felt like we got it a hundred times over, yet still, we had to see scene after scene of sexual abuse and violence. It was too much. Aminah Nieves gives a tremendous performance, but her story felt so disconnected from everything else. Sheridan ties it all together in the last episode, but again, this story line had so much abuse and so much darkness. There were small moments of light, but it was difficult to watch. Americans treated the Native American population horrendously, so I did appreciate the unflinching look at what white people did to this minority group- we should never forget that. So, while I appreciated the sentiments, it was still depressing to watch, episode after episode. Robert Patrick gave a nice supporting performance- I really enjoyed the scenes he had with Ford. Jerome Flynn was a great addition to the cast. Michelle Randolph felt like she could have been given better material to work with. Sheridan is usually so good at writing women (just look at Beth in Yellowstone), but it feels like the women characters in this series weren't as well developed as the men, outside of Cara. That was disappointing. I guess, to be fair, Jennifer Carpenter's character was pretty amazing- I loved her performance, and I just wish we had more time with her character.
I could go on, but you get the point. In the grand scheme of this sprawling Western saga that Taylor Sheridan is telling about the Dutton family, 1923 is a solid entry, but out of the three we've now gotten, it's the weakest in my opinion. It's still better than most of what is on television these days, but it was too dark, too brutal, and made us wait too long for a payoff that ended far too quickly. I was actually glad when the series ended- I was a little nervous they'd try and add another season. I'll still always like this, because we got to see Ford and Mirren work so well together, plus the emergence of Brandon Sklenar was so wonderful to see. I do wish Sheridan had directed at least one episode- it feels weird for him to have been so involved and not tackled even one episode. But, as a whole, this series expands the Dutton story in terrific ways, and it does make me so excited to see the next series in this epic narrative.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A
If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Yellowstone, 1883, 1944