1923

I absolutely love 1923! It's right up there with Yellowstone and 1883. If you're a fan of those two then you'll be a fan of this to. It takes the best of both of those shows and combine it for this one. This is definitely a show for adults with all the violence and language it that's what makes it so good. It's not for children. At this point Taylor Sheridan can do no wrong. He hits home run after home run. I love everything about this show...the acting, writing, directing, production, cinematography, etc, etc. Are all excellent. I mean this stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren for crying out loud. For those two A-list actors to do a tv show you know it had to be good. I know those two are going to get all the attention, and rightfully so, but there are just so many other great actors in this. Too many to even name. I can't wait to see more of this series and where it goes.

1923 is the next prequel to Yellowstone after 1883 and like those two shows this is just as incredible! As a huge fan of those two shows I was really looking forward to this and it did not disappoint! It continues to follow the Dutton family and show how they created the Yellowstone ranch. This obviously takes place in 1923 during prohibition and the Great Depression. It's another gritty western from Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan is one of the best things going on television right now, everything he touches turns to gold. Just look at his resume (Yellowstone, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Sicario, Hell or High Water, etc.). Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren lead an amazing cast who are all at their best here. I can't wait until Season 2 comes out and I'd be shocked if this show doesn't end up winning numerous awards.

I REALLY like some bits of this series and find other bits oddly off...as if they don't fit the rest of the story genre-wise. The most off bits are the scenes with Spencer and his love interest Alex. Unfortunately the casting of her really ruined those scenes for me. She is supposed to be British from London but speaks standard American and her too peroxide hair and a forever giggling, flirtatious 'vaudeville' acting (even in highly distressful scenes) means you can't take her seriously. She doesn't feel real, and so all those scenes just feel like a much less dramatic genre than the rest of the series where especially the scenes at the Indian nunnery school stand out in intensity. Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford's characters are also impeccable, nuanced and full of gravitas. All in all a great series but with a bit of genre confusion.

I generally like Sheridan's because they present multiple viewpoints, we don't necessarily have to agree with. 1883 was a knockout, for story-telling, history, and character development.

1923 would have been even better than 1883 if not for the gratuitous snuff porn. I'm not talking about the usual sexual violence women face from day to day, as reasonably portrayed in this series, but about Whitman's appetites specifically.

We already know Whitman is a sociopath without any boundaries or redeeming features. Negatives about any character are easy to portray offscreen (assuming they are even necessary). Filming the snuff-porn and giving viewers no option to view a less offensive version does absolutely nothing to advance the plot, or improve the Sheridan brand.

Almost everything about this shows predecessor was perfect. Hard to follow on the heels of that. This does an okay job, but it's clearly plotted for something much, much longer. And the stakes are entirely different. In 8 long episodes, probably 4 episodes of things happen. It has some pretty great moments, but it is spinning its wheels in favour of a very slow burn, which is unfortunate. Setting the bar so high and trying to clear it an entirely different way is not the best foot forward,

It's far from bad though. It's the contrast that hurts it. There's still great performances, thankfully. The sometimes? Return of the narrator of 1883 is very welcome too. The new characters seem well situated. It just feels a bit toothless, to me.