(FiveNation.com)- After much hype and anticipation, the “Yellowstone” prequel “1923” debuted on Paramount+ to a record audience.
Paramount Global reported that 7.4 million viewers, including those from three Paramount Network telecasts, CMT, and streaming on Paramount+, watched the premiere episode on Sunday.
Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren play the Dutton family’s ancestors in the hit television series “Yellowstone.” This most recent version centers on the family as they manage a sizable cattle ranch in Montana during the Prohibition era and a few years after World War I. It is jam-packed with cowboys, peril, dreams, family values, and a sense of impending doom as the Great Depression approaches.
According to chief programming officer Tanya Giles, they felt confident that this next chapter of the Dutton Family origin story would resonate with audiences, anchored by Taylor Sheridan’s incredible vision and the performances of legends Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford.
She said they were thrilled with the episode’s record-breaking early reception and can’t wait to introduce more viewers to this incredible journey of tenacity, heartbreak, and adventure set against the Mountain West’s backdrop.
According to Chris McCarthy, president, and CEO of Paramount Media Networks,
the Yellowstone universe continues to set records, with the most recent chapter, “1923,” scoring as the most-watched premiere ever on Paramount+ and making its debut as the year’s top new cable premiere on linear. With this most recent installment showing no signs of slowing down, he credited Sheridan for the success, saying the showrunner can “tap a cultural nerve that has proven irresistible to viewers from across the country and around the world.”
Ford, who plays Jacob Dutton, previously explained his motivation for accepting this role. Given his prior experience, he claimed that playing a rancher who must fight to defend his family and property was simple.
The 80-year-old Hollywood veteran said, “I don’t want to reinvent myself. I simply want to work.”
Although Sheridan claimed that was never his intention, the “Yellowstone” franchise has gained popularity among conservative audiences. He previously told The Atlantic, “They refer to it as ‘the conservative show,’ or ‘the Republican show,’ or ‘the red-state Game of Thrones.”
He just chuckles as he sits back and asks, “Really?”
He said the show discusses the eviction of Native Americans, the mistreatment of Native American women, corporate greed, the gentrification of the West, and land grabbing. “Is that a red-state show?”
Well, yes. It is.
