1923: Is This American Period Drama Great?

The “1923” (Season 1/USA/ 2022) Series is a tale of colonial greed and exploitation. This ongoing family saga about the Duttons picks up the story almost a century ago, in the early 20th century. During that time, between WWI and WWII, colonial expansion was still happening not only in the USA but across different continents and numerous countries of the world.

Spoiler-Free Review of the 1923 (Season 1/2022) Series

The synopsis

The 1923 series from the USA introduces a new generation of the Dutton family (led by actor Harrison Ford and actress Helen Mirren). They explore the early twentieth century when the pandemic, historic drought, the end of prohibition, and the Great Depression - all plague the mountain west and the Duttons, who call it home in this Western drama.

The storyline

To understand the context as well as the timeline of this historical tale of 1923 (20th Century), we recommend you watch the 1883 (19th century) series and/or the Yellowstone (21st century) series too. We have shared the details of all of these series with you in our Focus Magazine. Now, let us get back to other information related to the 1923 series. In the first season of this show, the Dutton family faced a new set of challenges in the early 20th century. These issues in question include Prohibition, the rise of Western expansion and the Great Depression in the United States of America.

Assuming that you all are history buffs like us, then you might find this series has a gripping plotline to hold your attention. Its fictional tales are rooted in the inspirations taken from American history.

So, what else did we like about it?

The central theme of this 1923 show is – ‘greed will be the thing that kills us all‘, as per its creator and producers. Even after a century, this theme sounds remarkably true in 2023.

To be honest, at present, we are watching Taylor Sheridan’s TV series work- the Yellowstone and the 1883 TV series. Moreover, we are also a fan of veteran actors – Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. So, it was good to see them play an on-screen couple. In addition, we are a history buff. And 1923 series boasts an honest and hard-hitting depiction of the historical realities in Montana state in that era. Grave issues, like Colonialism, Exploitation, and the Great Depression, dominated the early 1920s period.

Depiction of the Native Americans Issues

Honestly, we tried, but we could not digest the cruel treatment of Indigenous children in its storyline. Later, we learnt that these tales are based on the harsh realities of that historical period. These young indigenous children were forced to stay in the Native American Residential Schools. And these boarding schools were run by religious institutions with the active support of the US government. Their single-point agenda was to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children into mainstream Western culture.

To achieve their goals, these institutions used to carry out sexual, manual, physical and mental abuse of young Native American children. Therefore, in the 1923 series – Teonna (Aminah Nieves), a young indigenous Native teenager suffered gruesome abuse at the hands of the clerics and nuns of such boarding schools, as they used to beat the Indian or ‘savage’ out of the child. After reading about these kinds of horrific historical incidents of the past, we realised that these were honest depictions.

In other words, this series also acknowledges the historical misdeeds by talking about these issues publicly. We think these are good steps in the right direction.

These might start the healing process among the indigenous Native Americans.

The conclusion

Both the senior actor Harrison Ford and actress Dame Helen Mirren had a fascinating screen presence. They were very well supported by the talented ensemble cast members. We especially liked the work of young native American actress Aminah Nieves, whose tales broke our hearts.

This period drama traces the history of the Dutton Family (of Yellowstone series fame), as to what happened 100 years ago. This great drama takes an honest look at the historical injustices and other key issues. No wonder we loved Season 1 of this captivating show. And now we look forward to its next season.

Rating of the 1923 (Season 1/2022) Series

Poster of the 1923 (Season 1/2022) Series

Key Details about the 1923 (Season 1/2022) Series

Trailer of the 1923 (Season 1/2022) Series

Bonus YouTube Videos Links:
Best of 1923 (Part 1) | Paramount+ | Yellowstone
Best of 1923 (Part 2) | Paramount+ | Yellowstone

Also read the FM review of Mayor of Kingstown Series, another show created by Taylor Sheridan.

Focus on the young Native actress Aminah Nieves

We got a chance to admire the plotline depicting the journey of a young, upcoming Native Indigenous actress, Aminah Nieves, which is a rare occurrence in the mainstream series of the USA. Notably, the Indigenous American actress plays Teonna in the 1923 series. She is one of the important characters in this story.

This is what she said about playing the challenging role and the filming of violent scenes.

It was really hard to move through because you feel everything. I knew it wasn’t just going to be me feeling it. I knew that there were gonna be ancestors flowing through me. That’s exactly what happened when I got to set. I felt like sometimes, I wasn’t even in control of my body, you know? It felt like, ‘Aminah, someone else is here. Let them take over for a second.’

I was scared a lot. I wanted to make sure I was honouring every single human, every single family member, my grandparents, my aunties, my mom, my dad and then all of the communities. I’m so happy that I’m here and doing it and being a voice.

Native American actor Aminah Nieves | Town & Country

Lastly, you can also read about its prequel, 1883 and sequel, Yellowstone series, in our Focus magazine. Notably, American show creator and writer, Taylor Sheridan, created the 1883, 1923 and the Yellowstone series. So, he has cut these shows from the same cloth. They narrate the story of the Dutton family in different eras. Each period has its own set of problems and issues. The "LAND' is the most important asset in all three time periods depicted in this series. The battles and wars are being fought for the pieces of the precious land. 

Featured & Other Images: 1923 Show | Paramount+ & IMDb.