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Yellowstone prequel 1923 has received a December premiere date on streamer Paramount+. Taylor Sheridan’s latest western — which stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton — arrives on December 18. And before audiences get to see it, we already know that it has one major difference from the first Yellowstone prequel, 1883.

Yellowstone prequel 1923 will take place 40 years after the death of Isabel May’s Elsa (with Tim McGraw as James) in the Paramount+ original series 1883
Isabel May and Tim McGraw in ‘1883’ | Emerson Miller/Paraount+

What is the new ‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1923’ about?

Originally titled 1932, Sheridan’s latest Yellowstone spinoff 1923 indicates the year the story takes place — in the Prohibition era following World War I. The Dutton family has settled in Montana, 40 years after the events of 1883. But still about 35 years before the birth of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton from the flagship series.

“1923 focuses on the Dutton family’s next two generations as they struggle to survive historic drought, lawlessness and Prohibition, and an epidemic of cattle theft; all battled beneath the cloud of Montana’s great depression, which preceded the nation by almost a decade,” the series description reads.

The 1923 cast is led by Ford’s Jacob Dutton — the patriarch of the Yellowstone Ranch and the brother of James Dutton (1883’s Tim McGraw) and Mirren’s Cara Dutton, Jacob’s wife. They lead a large ensemble cast that will introduce Yellowstone fans to a lot more Duttons, plus their friends and enemies.

‘1923’ already has a major difference from ‘1883’

1923 will be a Paramount+ exclusive series, just like its predecessor 1883. However, there will be one major difference. According to Deadline, Sheridan has decided that one season won’t be enough to tell the story of this Dutton generation. Instead, he needs two seasons of 1923 with eight episodes each.

Currently, 101 Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios are in negotiations with the cast for them to return for a second season. Originally, 1883 was supposed to have a second season but it became a limited series because Sheridan wanted to turn that second season into a series of its own. That second season ended up being the origin of 1923, and the story is obviously much bigger than the one told in the first prequel.

Could ‘Yellowstone’ be getting two more prequels?

When Paramount announced the official premiere date for 1923, it was also revealed that Sheridan is considering two more Yellowstone prequels to cover Dutton generations in the 1940s and the 1960s. They are both currently in “early development.”

Both 1883 and 1923 were developed at lightning speed — less than one year each — since Paramount is using Sheidan’s content as a foundation for their streamer. But with two seasons of 1923 to look forward to, Sheridan has way more time to develop more prequels and create more generations of Duttons.

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Paramount has apparently given Sheridan the keys to the kingdom and is willing to expand his Yellowstone universe as much as they can.  This makes sense, considering Yellowstone is the number one drama on TV and scored more than 15 million viewers for the season 4 finale.

Yellowstone Season 5 will premiere on Sunday, November 13 with a special two-hour event. There will also be bonus episodes of 1883 premiering soon on Paramount+ before 1923 premieres on Sunday, December 18. Prequel 1883 also has its very own spinoff 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, which is coming soon in 2023.

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