What happened to Cole Brings Plenty from 1923? Details explored as Season 2 pays tribute

The Season 2 premiere of 1923 kicked off with a tribute to actor Cole Brings Plenty, who played Pete Plenty Clouds in the first season. Brings Plenty, just 27 years old, passed away in April 2025, only days after going missing and being named a suspect in a domestic violence investigation. As the new season began, a somber "In Memoriam" message dedicated to him set a tone of remembrance.

Instead of writing his character out of the series, the showrunners decided to recast Pete Plenty Clouds, with Jeremy Guana taking on the role. This choice was met with support from the cast, including Aminah Nieves, who portrays Teonna.

In a TV Insider interview, she talked about her decision to keep telling Pete's story as a tribute to Brings Plenty's work:

"The best thing we could’ve done."

She talked about the challenge of coming back to 1923 when she was grieving for a close friend. She said,

"He lives on and with us every day."

---

Circumstances surrounding Cole Brings Plenty’s death

On March 31, 2024, Cole Brings Plenty disappeared from Lawrence, Kansas. He was considered a suspect in a domestic violence incident after officers answered a call about a woman yelling for assistance at an apartment. Soon after, traffic cameras captured him leaving the city. His remains were discovered on April 5, 2024, in a wooded area of Johnson County, Kansas.

His uncle, Mo Brings Plenty, who also acts in Yellowstone, posted a missing person alert. This was unusual because Cole had a meeting with his agent that he never attended. Sadly, only three days later, they found his body in a rural part of Kansas. It was close to a car that had been reported to the police as being empty.

This was shocking news for fans and people he worked with. Many people from the 1923 and Yellowstone worlds talked about how good he was at his job and how nice he was. His loss is still felt a lot, as he was becoming more popular in Taylor Sheridan's growing Yellowstone universe.

---

How does 1923 Season 2 honor Cole Brings Plenty?

The 1923 premiere paid a touching tribute to Brings Plenty, and the series decided to keep his character, Pete Plenty Clouds, in the narrative. This decision to recast rather than eliminate the character was widely praised.

Aminah Nieves commended the move, and expressed her admiration for how seamlessly Jeremy Guana stepped into the role in 1923.

She remembered the atmosphere on set with Brings Plenty, sharing,

"I think everyone felt like, in those moments when we were there and Pete was there, Coco was also resting his hands on us and was like, ‘It’s OK.’"

In the second season of 1923, Pete and Teonna are still on the run, dealing with new threats from Father Renaud and Marshall Thomas.

While they're looking for a safe place to hide and a chance at freedom, Teonna's dad, Runs His Horse, lends them a hand. The story continues to center around Brings Plenty's character, Pete.

---

If you're curious about Pete's escapades and want to see how the show pays tribute to Cole Brings Plenty, be sure to tune into 1923 Season 2 on Paramount+.