Harrison Ford Confirms He’ll Be There for ‘1923’ Season 2
Harrison Ford may have just made the jump to TV, but the legendary actor has already said he’s on board for 1923 season 2. The series is the latest from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and acts as a prequel to Sheridan’s flagship show while also a sequel to the series 1883. Leading the series is Ford, who plays another Dutton patriarch, Jacob.
Jacob Dutton’s close call in ‘1923’ season 1
In the ever-expanding Dutton-verse, Jacob is the great-great uncle of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton and brother of James (played by Tim McGraw in 1883). Following James’ death in 1893, Jacob took over the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and 1923 follows the turbulent times through which he runs it.
Beginning in the series’ title year, 1923 sees the American West at a tense time in history. Set three years into a liquor-less country thanks to Prohibition and just a few years before the Great Depression, 1923 sees Ford’s Jacob dealing with drought and land wars. By episode 3, those land wars have led to an ambush on the Duttons led by Scottish sheepherder Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) and his men.
Jacob and several other main characters are seriously wounded when the episode ends, leaving viewers wondering if the 77-year-old Jacob would survive.
Harrison Ford is ready to return for ‘1923’ season 2
Since 1923’s harrowing episode 3, viewers have learned that Jacob does survive, nursed back to health by his wife Cara (Helen Mirren). Not only that, but Ford recently confirmed he’ll be bringing Jacob back in 1923 season 2.
In an interview with Today, Ford spoke of his return to the series plainly, providing a refreshing break from the high level of secrecy often surrounding hit shows and films. Interviewer Savannah Guthrie, leads Ford to the question hesitantly, saying “There’s rumors of a second season. Will you be there?”
Without any hesitation, Ford answers simply, “Yeah.” And while Guthrie seems surprised to have received a straight answer so easily in the segment, it should come as no surprise, at this point, that Ford is a straight shooter. The veteran actor has built his career on a no-nonsense, cowboy-like approach to fame — a Jacob Dutton of Hollywood, so to speak.
‘1923’ season 2 will continue the ‘Yellowstone’ saga
Continuing the massive success of Yellowstone, 1923 has been well received by both critics and audiences alike. The series currently has a 90% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes along with a 75% audience score. In comparison, Yellowstone’s scores are 84% and 75% respectively and Yellowstone’s first prequel, 1883, has a critical rating of 89% and an audience rating of 82%.
Not everyone has been a fan of 1923, however, with Digital Trends calling the series “an unremarkable Yellowstone prequel” while other review sites note the series’ slow pace and lack of action. The Daily Beast says that, like Yellowstone and 1883, 1923 does not stray “far from the path, earnestly espousing down-home values and the supremacy of the rural to the urban,” and wishes the series “were freer of Sheridan’s trademark clichés.”
There is one aspect of 1923 that almost everyone seems to agree upon though: Ford and Mirren’s performances have been applauded nearly across the board. And while neither actor’s illustrious career has delved very far into the Western genre (Ford did a handful of Westerns several decades ago along with his role in 2011’s Cowboys & Aliens while Mirren has largely avoided the genre), both Ford and Mirren have turned out to be a fresh pair of determined Duttons that will (at least in Ford’s case) continue in 1923 season 2.
