1923 Showrunner Reveals Huge Per Episode Budget For Yellowstone Spinoff

With major star power like Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in its cast as well as being filmed not just in the United States but in Africa as well, it’s no secret that Paramount+’s Yellowstone prequel spinoff 1923 has a significant budget, but now, series creator Taylor Sheridan is opening up about just how expensive the series is to make. Speaking with Deadline (via Collider), Sheridan reveals that each episode of 1923 has a budget that rivals that of a small movie — and that while 1883 was the “most expensive first season” of a television show made, 1923 is even more expensive than that thanks to practical effects and location.

“I would argue that 1883 was the most expensive first season of a TV show ever made. [1923] was much more expensive. Much more expensive. I don’t know what the Game of Thrones budgets were, but I don’t know how they could have been more than this,” he said. “You saw six thousand sheep, three thousand cattle, and as this show keeps going, you’re in Africa. All real. You know how hard it is to move a crew around in Africa in 2022 with COVID, and all the rules and all the politics? [Paramount is] so malleable to the storyteller, or at least to me as the storyteller. They will add episodes because I need it to tell the story. You think about when you talk about a show that’s costing $30 million to $35 million an episode and you just asked for eight more episodes … and realize I just asked for 240 million dollars.”

What is 1923 about?

1923, the next installment of the Dutton family origin story, will introduce a new generation of Duttons led by patriarch Jacob (Ford) and matriarch Cara (Mirren). The series will explore the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west, and the Duttons who call it home.

In addition to Ford 1923 also stars Helen Mirren, Darren Mann (“Animal Kingdom”), Michelle Randolph (“A Snow White Christmas”), James Badge Dale (“Hightown”), Marley Shelton (“Scream”), Brian Geraghty (“Big Sky”), Aminah Nieves (“Blueberry”), and Jerome Flynn (“Game of Thrones”).

Is Yellowstone on Paramount+?

The four previous seasons of Yellowstone are available on Peacock, not Paramount+, thanks to a streaming deal that was made before Paramount+ was rebranded. Yellowstone spinoffs, however, are exclusive to Paramount+. As for Yellowstone Season 5, you’ll need to turn to cable or cable alternatives to watch the new episodes, unless you plan on waiting until late next summer for them to arrive on Peacock.