Home TV News Yellowstone Prequel 1923 Sets Premiere Record at Paramount+

Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren’s 1923 is an instant hit with Yellowstone fans.

Paramount+

Fans were tuning in in droves when 1923 had its premiere on Paramount+. Per TVLine, the Yellowstone prequel series managed to pull in 7.4 million viewers when its first episode dropped on Sunday night. This was across all platforms through Paramount+ streaming and Paramount Network airings, and while it’s not clear how much of that number consists of streaming viewership, 1923 is said to have smashed a previous record set at the platform. It is the most-watched premiere ever in the United States on Paramount+, reportedly passing the previous record by almost 80 percent.

Tanya Giles, Paramount Streaming’s Chief Programming Officer, said of the news: “Anchored by Taylor Sheridan’s incredible vision and the performances of legends Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, we felt confident this next chapter of the Dutton Family origin story would resonate with audiences. We are thrilled with the record-breaking early response to the first episode and can’t wait to introduce more audiences to this incredible journey of perseverance, heartbreak, and adventure set amongst the backdrop of the Mountain West.”
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1923 is created by Taylor Sheridan and the series serves as the latest chapter in the Yellowstone franchise. Originally planned as a limited series, the show was extended to last two seasons, and apparently this was the right call given the immediate success of the spinoff. Of course, the series also has the benefit of getting spawned from Yellowstone, a series that remains incredibly popular in its fifth season with a previous prequel, the limited series 1883, also clicking very well with viewers.

Related: Game of Thrones Actor Joseph Mawle Joins Cast of Yellowstone Prequel 1923 on Paramount+

An All-New Cast Stars in 1923

Paramount+

1923 takes us back to, well, 1923, following the Dutton family as they deal with the struggles of the era, including Western Expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression. Helen Mirren stars as Cara Dutton, the matriarch of the family, alongside Harrison Ford as patriarch Jacob Dutton. Also starring are Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Jerome Flynn, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, and Michelle Randolph.

“I admire her work and her person [now], and I have all the same degree of admiration for her as I did then,” Ford said of working with Mirren on the project, via People. “She’s wonderful, she’s just a lovely person, and so it’s been both a professional pleasure and a personal pleasure working with her again.”

The series premiered on Dec. 18, 2022, with the second episode set to drop on Jan. 1, 2023. You can stream the premiere on Paramount+, and you can watch the official trailer below.