“So awful”: Helen Mirren reveals why did not like Western dramas before 1923

1923 season 2 premiered on Paramount+ on February 23, 2025, bringing back iconic actress Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton. She is joined by Harrison Ford, who plays her husband, Jacob Dutton. The couple goes through various trials and tribulations to protect their land in Montana.

Though Mirren has impressed the audience and the critics with her amazing performance in the show, the actress said she was never a fan of Western dramas, because of how women were portrayed in these shows back in the day:

“I never really liked Westerns because the women in them were so awful.”

Mirren added that things finally started to change because of Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone and its spin-offs, who depicted women as strong characters with a lot of substance.

---

1923 star Helen Mirren credits Taylor Sheridan for bringing change to Western dramas

Helen Mirren recently had an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about 1923 Season 2. During the conversation, she credited Taylor Sheridan for writing strong female characters in his shows, unlike Western dramas of the past:

“Young women should be very grateful to Taylor Sheridan for writing such great women roles. Cara is just one of them. He’s written a whole series of great, great women’s roles.”

Mirren highlighted how powerful female characters like Cara Dutton did not exist in Western dramas when she was growing up:

“Those roles didn’t exist when I was growing up in our business. Even as an audience member, I never saw these people on the screen.”

She continued:

“I just love the fact that young women now can watch 1923 or any of Taylor’s pieces and see really interesting, complicated, vulnerable, strong… just real people who happen to be women on the screen.”

Mirren was introduced as Cara Dutton in the very first episode of the show, which premiered in December 2022. Cara is known for her strong yet vulnerable personality and her emotional intelligence. In the second season, she is battling extreme winter while trying to protect her land from the villains who want to acquire it.

1923 is a part of the Yellowstone universe, serving as a prequel to the original series, and a sequel to 1883. All three shows have featured some powerful female characters who are remembered by the audience.

Apart from Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, the series stars Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton, Jerome Flynn as Banner Creighton, Darren Mann as Jack Dutton, Julia Schlaepfer as Alexandra, Michelle Randolph as Elizabeth "Liz" Strafford, Aminah Nieves as Teonna Rainwater, and Timothy Dalton as Donald Whitfield.

1923 season 2 airs new episodes on Paramount+ on Sundays.