TV Talk: Harrison Ford discusses starring in ‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1923’
Share this post:
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.
Of all the Taylor Sheridan-produced shows — “Yellowstone,” “1883,” “Mayor of Kingstown” — his two most recent are the best yet.
Last month, it was the premiere of the Sylvester Stallone-starring “Tulsa King,” which added some much-needed levity to the Sheridan-verse.
This month, viewers get “1923,” a “Yellowstone” prequel (and “1883” sequel), that delivers the biggest star power so far: Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren lead the cast.
Streaming Sunday with a one-time linear telecast Sunday night on Paramount Network after a new “Yellowstone,” “1923” is also the most structurally ambitious of Sheridan’s series efforts.
Rather than following a single, straight-forward story, “1923” tracks three stories simultaneously that will presumably converge at some point.
In Bozeman, Mont., Yellowstone Ranch patriarch Jacob Dutton (Ford), brother of Tim McGraw’s James Dutton from “1883,” attempts to keep the peace while also keeping his cattle herd alive during a drought. His wife Cara (Mirren), whom Jacob refers to as “the boss,” takes charge of the home front, including diffusing tensions when great nephew Jack (Darren Mann) delays his wedding to Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph) because of a cattle drive.
Then there’s the story of another Dutton, a veteran haunted by World War I atrocities who’s hunting a predator that targets an African safari near Nairobi, Kenya.
Back in North America, there’s also the story of Teonna (Aminah Nieves), a Native American who is mistreated by a strict Irish nun (Jennifer Ehle) at a government boarding school.
Paramount+ only made the first episode available for review, and it’s a taut hour of drama with a few moments of levity courtesy of Ford’s trademark, low-key sarcasm. There are also at least two jump scares.
During a virtual interview via Zoom earlier this month, Ford said he decided to act in TV shows for the first time in decades because of the writing in both “1923” and his upcoming Apple TV+ series, “Shrinking” (Jan. 27).
“The material seemed unusually good to me in both cases,” Ford said. “And I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.”
Ford said he was busy working in England — likely on the fifth Indiana Jones movie, due in theaters next year — and hasn’t watched “Yellowstone” much, but he made a point to catch some of “1883.”
“I didn’t really want to concentrate on what happens in the future because (my character) would have no knowledge of it — but I would know what happened to my brother and his family (in ‘1883’), what they suffered to get to Montana,” Ford said. “That suffering is the reason (Jacob Dutton) feels the degree of responsibility he does for his family’s future. And they’re beset by all manner of issues and problems.
“The drought has produced less grass, there’s competition for that grass amongst the shepherds and the cattlemen,” Ford continued. “Electricity is coming; cars are in the street. His way of life is being challenged. And his ranch is being directly threatened by what we see.”
Ford said his Jacob Dutton is a complex character “who is revealed in dramatic circumstances.” Ford sees Jacob’s primary character trait as determination.
“The way that (Taylor’s) built these characters is really very successful to me, and I’m hoping to be useful in interpreting it for him,” Ford said.
Paramount+ has been somewhat cagey about how long any of these “Yellowstone” spin-offs will run. Almost a year ago, the service announced there will be “more episodes” of “1883” — no sign of those so far — but stopped short of ordering a second season.
Given the involvement of Ford, one of the last remaining movie stars to do TV (Tom Cruise is one of the others), you could imagine “1923” as a one-and-done limited series. But not so fast.
“We’ve done eight, and we’re planning on having the opportunity to do another eight,” Ford told me.
“1923” also boasts at least one Pittsburgh connection: Co-star Brian Geraghty, who plays Dutton’s loyal ranch foreman Zane, spent his childhood until age 8 on Mt. Washington during a period when his father was a vice president of marketing for Heinz.
Geraghty didn’t get interested in acting until later in life, but he does recall seeing theater in Pittsburgh that made an impression.
“We went and saw a production of ‘Peter Pan’ there, and Sandy Duncan was playing Peter Pan,” Geraghty said. “I remember yelling to the whole audience, ‘I can see the strings! I can see the strings!’ ”