Prepare for a “darker” story when 1923 returns for its second and final season. The Yellowstone spinoff is currently filming in Austin, Texas, and star Brandon Sklenar has shared some details about what to expect. His comments confirm that he will share scenes with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in Season 2, implying that Spencer will make it back home to Montana.
Last we saw Spencer, he was arrested and separated from his love, Alex (Julia Schlaepfer), who promised she would meet him in Montana. They each screamed “I love you,” marking the first time either of them said it to each other, but it’s not clear if the confessions were heard.
Spencer’s arrest threw a major wrench into their journey back to Montana, prompted by Aunt Cara’s desperate call for help in her letter to Spencer after the death of his brother, John (James Badge Dale). The ranch is under threat of being taken over by the insidious capitalist Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), so the Duttons need Spencer to help them fight for their home.
In an interview with Forbes conducted on June 19, Sklenar said he was just five days away from leaving for Texas to begin work on Season 2.
“I’m actually leaving in five days to go start the rest of 1923. We start filming in about two weeks and I’m leaving for pre-production in five days. I’ve had all the scripts for six months. I can confidently say that it’s going to be absolutely incredible,” he shared. “The tone shifts a lot and it’s definitely a bit darker. It’s very beautiful.”
The It Ends With Us star also confirmed that he has scenes with Ford and Mirren, which didn’t happen in Season 1. Since it’s the final season, viewers may have already assumed that we would see Spencer on the Dutton ranch before the series ends. But the circumstances of how he’ll get there, and if Alex will make it as well, remain a mystery. Sklenar also praised the 1923 series finale in his comments, saying that he’s known Spencer’s arc since “day one.”
“It’s so hard for me to not give away spoilers. I do get plenty of Helen [Mirren] and Harrison [Ford] time, and it’s going to be special,” Sklenar teased. “I mean, the finale of the series is probably one of the best things I’ve read in my life. I’ve kind of known how it was going to end since day one — Taylor [Sheridan] kind of told me. I knew the full arc of Spencer from day one, so in shooting part one, [you’re] mindful of where he needs to go. I’m really excited.”
1923 Season 2 could also feature the birth of John Dutton II, father to Kevin Costner‘s John Dutton III. Schlaepfer previously told TV Insider that she thinks the series is “building” to that moment, but she remained coy on whether Spencer and Alex or Jack (Darren Mann) and Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) are the parents. Season 2 was confirmed in February 2023. The show was always billed as a limited series, and Sklenar confirmed in May 2023 that Season 2 will be its last.
“No, no, it’s bookend. It’s still limited, but I think of it as one piece — there’s just a split in the middle, but it’s all one piece. It will conclude,” Sklenar told The Hollywood Reporter.
1923 is currently filming throughout Texas, with Austin being its home base. Production began in July. While a premiere date has not yet been announced, it’s likely that Season 2 will premiere in 2025.
1923, Season 2 Premiere, TBA, Paramount+