1923 is an ongoing family saga about the Dutton family, which picks up the story almost a century ago in the early 20th century in the United States of America. At that time, when colonial expansion was taking place.
This colonial expansion was happening not only in the USA (including the Northern American states of Montana) but across different continents and various countries.
To understand the context as well as the timeline of this historical tale of 1923 (20th Century), I recommend you watch the 1883 (19th century) TV series and/or the Yellowstone (21st century) TV series too. We have shared the details of all of these series with you in our Focus Magazine. Now, let us get back to its official synopsis and other information related to the 1923 series in this article.
Table of Contents
1923 (S1/2022) Series:- 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.
1923 (S1/2022) Series:- review
In season one of the 1923 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 me, then you might find the 1923 series has a gripping plotline to hold your attention.
As its fictional tales are rooted in true American history as the story of its prequel 1883 was. The central theme of this 1923 show is – ‘greed will be the thing that kills us all’, according to its creator and producers. Even after a century, this theme sounds remarkably true in 2023. Well, here are the five reasons, why I loved the 1923 series, as I learnt some new facts.
- We are a fan of Taylor Sheridan’s past creative TV series works – the Yellowstone and the 1883 TV series.
- Besides, we are also a fan of veteran actors – Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. Also in this show, we got a chance to admire the plotline depicting the journey of a young upcoming Native Indigenous actor – Aminah Nieves; which is a rare occurrence.
- 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.
- 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.
- Lastly, 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 realized 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.
We loved season one of 1923 and look forward to watching season two of this captivating dramatic show.
1923 (S1/2022) Series:- details
| Genre | Western, Drama |
| Released | December 2022 |
| Creator | Taylor Sheridan |
| Season | One (1) season |
| Episodes | Eight (8) episodes |
| Cast | Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Aminah Nieves, Brandon Sklenar, etc. |
1923 (S1/2022) Series:- poster
1923 (S1/2022) Series:- ratings
| FM’s rating | 4.25/5 |
| IMDb rating as of the date | 8.50/10 |
| Rotten Tomatoes ratings as of the date | 90% Tomatometer & 66% Audience Score |
| Critics Consensus/Rotten Tomatoes | Distinguished by the ineffable star power of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, 1923 is another solid if unrelentingly grim addition to Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe. |
1923 (S1/2022) Series:- trailer
Focus:- senior actor Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is a bonafide Hollywood superstar. He has played a bunch of unforgettable iconic roles of Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Rick Deckard and Jack Ryan in his long career in the cinematic world. Besides, in his long career, he has given many top-class entertaining movies – Witness (1985), The Fugitive (1993), Air Force One (1997), What Lies Beneath (2000), 42 (2013), Ender’s Game (2014), The Age of Adaline (2015), The Call of the Wild (2020), etc.
| Iconic Roles | Han Solo | Indiana Jones |
| Movies | Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) | Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) – yet to be released |
| Iconic Roles | Rick Deckard | Jack Ryan |
| Movies | Blade Runner (1982) Blade Runner 2049 (2017) | Patriot Games (1992) Clear and Present Danger (1994) |
Focus:- senior actress Dame Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren is an English actress born in London, England; however, her roots are Russian. Her great-great-great-great-grandfather was field marshal Kamensky, one of the Russian heroes of the Napoleonic wars. For her outstanding acting performances over the years, Dame Helen has won almost all the prestigious awards. Here is the list of her prolific acting job and awards won, over the years.
She was awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to drama. She was recognized with the Winner Star on the Walk of Fame (Motion Picture) on January 3, 2013. The previous year, she won the 2022 Winner Life Achievement Award from Screen Actors Guild Awards.
| Movies: | The Mosquito Coast (1986) – with Harrison Ford, Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), The Madness of King George (1994), Gosford Park (2001), The Queen (2006), State of Play (2009), RED (2010), RED 2 (2013), Trumbo (2015), etc. |
| Awards won in Movies: | Screen Actors Guild Awards – 2002 Winner Actor – Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Gosford Park BAFTA Awards – 2007 Winner BAFTA Film Award – Best Actress in a Leading Role – The Queen Academy Awards, USA – 2007 Winner Oscar – Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role – The Queen Golden Globes, USA – 2007 Winner Golden Globe – Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama – The Queen Screen Actors Guild Awards – 2007 Winner Actor – Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role – The Queen |
| TV -Series/Movies: | Prime Suspect (1991), Prime Suspect 2 (1992), Prime Suspect 3 (1993), Prime Suspect: The Lost Child (1995), Prime Suspect: Inner Circles (1995), Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness (1995), Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgement (1996), Prime Suspect: The Last Witness (2003), Elizabeth I (2005), Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act (2006), etc. |
| Awards won in TV – Series/Movies | BAFTA Awards – 1992 Winner BAFTA TV Award – Best Actress – Prime Suspect BAFTA Awards – 1993 Winner BAFTA TV Award – Best Actress – Prime Suspect 2 BAFTA Awards – 1994 Winner BAFTA TV Award – Best Actress – Prime Suspect 3 Primetime Emmy Awards – 1996 Winner Primetime Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special – Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness Golden Globes, USA – 1997 Winner Golden Globe – Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television – Losing Chase Primetime Emmy Awards – 1999 Winner Primetime Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie – The Passion of Ayn Rand Primetime Emmy Awards – 2006 Winner Primetime Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie – Elizabeth I Primetime Emmy Awards – 2007 Winner Primetime Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie – Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act Golden Globes, USA – 2007 Winner Golden Globe -Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television – Elizabeth I Screen Actors Guild Awards – 2007 Winner Actor – Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries – Elizabeth I Screen Actors Guild Awards – 2014 Winner Actor – Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries – Phil Spector |
Focus:- young actress Aminah Nieves
Aminah Nieves is an Indigenous Native American actor, who played Teonna in the 1923 series, one of the important characters in this story.
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.’
Native American actor Aminah Nieves | Town & Country
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.
That is what she said about playing the challenging role and the filming of violent scenes in the 1923 show.
Focus:- writer & show creator Taylor Sheridan
You can also read about its prequel the 1883 and sequel Yellowstone series in our Focus magazine. 1883, 1923 and the Yellowstone series were created by Taylor Sheridan. So, these shows are cut 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.
Featured & Other Images: 1923 Show | Paramount+ & IMDb.