
1883 chronicles how the family eventually came to own Yellowstone Ranch and stars Isabel May, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sam Elliott and others. 1923 serves as another prequel to Yellowstone and a sequel to 1883. Starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Brandon Sklenar, and others, 1923 further chronicles the personal drama and historical heartbreak the Dutton family endures. However, some fans may still wonder what exactly connects the two shows and how it all ties back to Yellowstone in the end.
Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on April 7, 2025: The Yellowstone franchise may have lost its primary series, but it is far from ending. With multiple new spinoffs in the pipeline, the story of the Dutton family is getting bigger, not smaller. Fans can go back in time to see the history of the Duttons and their infamous ranch, as far back as the 1800s. This article is updated to include more information about the Duttons’ history in the Yellowstone franchise and to adhere to CBR’s current formatting guidelines.
1883 Introduces the Dutton Family
Headstrong Tennesseans, The Duttons Head Out For Oregon From Texas

1923 Accomplished Something With 1 Character That Yellowstone Never Quite Got Right
1923 is building up an actually complex villain with one of its supporting characters–something the Yellowstone franchise has struggled with.
Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) is contracted to lead them there, but he truly wants to die after the passing of his wife and daughter to smallpox. There is also a group of immigrants from Europe who combine their resources with Shea and the Duttons to make it to Oregon. But tragedy strikes many times and in many ways throughout the trip. James and his wife Margret (Faith Hill) struggle to maintain unity while their headstrong 17-year-old daughter, Elsa (Isabel May), takes on the rough life of a cowboy, eventually falling in love with one, Ennis. At one point, the group is attacked by bandits, and Mary Abel, James’s niece, is killed. As James and Shea pursue them, his sister, Claire – who was Mary Abel’s mother – dies by suicide. Later, the cowboy that Elsa falls in love with is killed, leaving her alone and grieving.
How the Duttons Come To Own the Yellowstone
Tragedy Brings The Duttons To the Ranch

1923 Secretly Teases the Origin of Yellowstone’s Most Infamous Location
1923’s latest episode teases the origins of an iconic location from the original Yellowstone series that nearly destroyed the Dutton family.
In the course of the attack, Elsa is shot with an arrow. She diffuses the situation, but James and Margret realize that she is going to die. Realizing this, Elsa asks to choose her burial spot. A Crow tribe healer tells her of a valley in Montana called Paradise, and James quickly takes her there, leaving the rest of the group to catch up as they can. Elsa dies in her father’s arms and is buried in the valley. The Duttons settle in that valley, ending one of the best period dramas in recent memory.
How 1923 Expands and Explores The Dutton Family Tree
Trial and Tribulation Continue To Define the Duttons
1923 opens with Elsa narrating the changes that have occurred in the Dutton family since the end of 1883. James Dutton passed away a decade after the death of Elsa, leaving Margret and her three children to struggle to maintain the ranch in the harsh environment of Montana. Margret wrote to James’ brother Jacob, pleading with him to come out to Montana. He did, but was too late to help Margret who had frozen to death. But Jacob could help her two children who were starving. And so, 1923, one of the best prequel series of all time, begins with an elderly Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his wife Cara (Helen Mirren), who are caretakers of the ranch. They’re the last connection to the generation of 1883, having worked in the intervening years, and adoptive parents to James and Margret’s surviving children: John and Spencer. Many fans assumed that John and his wife, Emma, would grow to become the parents of John Dutton II and grandparents of the family’s current patriarch, John Dutton III (Kevin Costner).

Sorry Yellowstone Fans, 1923 Is Better Than the Original in 1 Major Way (& It Helps the Duttons)
Despite what the critics might say, 1923 is better than Yellowstone in one crucial way that helps make the Dutton family more compelling.
Only Two Characters From 1883 Return in 1923
Their Appearances in 1923 Help Bring Continuity
Because the shows take place 40 years apart, it only makes sense that most of the main characters from 1883 would not be returning by 1923. By the time the story of 1923, James and Margaret are long dead, leaving a new generation to take over the handling of the ranch. Because of this, only one character who was still alive by the end of 1883 was able to return and cross over into the sequel/prequel series. That character is John Dutton Sr.

1 Upcoming Yellowstone Spinoff Will Break a Major Franchise Trend
The Yellowstone franchise is expanding beyond the Dutton family, with this upcoming spinoff potentially changing the television universe forever.
1923 Sets Up a New Era of the Dutton Family Saga
The Final Season of 1923 Sets Up the Future of the Franchise
The series finale of 1923 telegraphs the end of one era of the Dutton family saga while setting up another. The series primarily charts the battle between the Duttons and Donald Whitfield, a British businessman who wants to take over the Yellowstone and convert it into a ski resort. The skirmish spills over into the final episodes of the series, which see the Duttons emerge victorious, though not without losing several key family members. 1923 ends with Cara and Jacob still in control of the Yellowstone Ranch, where they presumably live out their final days in peace. Their nephew Spencer has also returned to the ranch by this time, where he plans to raise his newborn son, John.
Yellowstone’s 1923 Spinoff Owes Everything to 1 Major Taylor Sheridan Mistake
Without an 1883 mishap, 1923 wouldn’t exist, and fans wouldn’t have one of their favorite new Western shows.
1944 Bridges The Gap Between 1923 And Yellowstone
Yellowstone Is Beginning to Connect Its Series
Throughout two seasons of television, writer Taylor Sheridan has managed to weave together a thrilling and entertaining history of the Dutton family. Another upcoming prequel, 1944, is set to bridge the gap between 1923 and the original show that started it all. Even though Yellowstone is nearing its end, fans of the franchise can still look forward to more stories from the Dutton family’s long history. It certainly doesn’t seem like Sheridan has any plans to end it for good as he continues to explore the past Dutton generations.

Related
Yellowstone’s Newest Spinoff Marks a Major First for the Franchise
Yellowstone’s next spinoff series has been announced–and it’s already changing Taylor Sheridan’s television universe in the best way possible.
If the show covers enough time, it could even include the birth of John Dutton III, officially coming full circle. The Yellowstone franchise may be losing its chief series (or not, depending on if certain rumors from Paramount prove true), but still has plenty of stories left to tell. As Taylor Sheridan completes one phase of his iconic franchise, fans look forward to seeing what he has in store for them next.