Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford to Star in ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel ‘1932’

Paramount+ is going big for its Yellowstone prequel series, 1932.

Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford have been tapped to star in the Yellowstone origin story from creator Taylor Sheridan. The series will stream exclusively on Paramount+ and debut at a date to be determined in December.

Picked up straight to series in February, 1932 introduces a new generation of the Dutton family and will explore the early 20^th 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.”

Character details for the roles that Mirren and Ford will play are being kept under wraps.

The casting marks a massive swing for Paramount+ and comes ahead of parent company Paramount Global’s Wednesday presentation to Madison Avenue ad buyers. 1932 arrives as Sheridan’s Yellowstone has blossomed into a massive hit and sprawling franchise although the flagship series streams exclusively on NBCUniversal-backed Peacock as part of a licensing deal that came before CBS All Access was rebranded as Paramount+ as ViacomCBS expanded the platform to include content from across its portfolio. Yellowstone still debuts on Paramount Global-backed Paramount Network.

Since the service’s expansion, Paramount+ has been rapidly ramping up its so-called Sheridan-verse with Yellowstone prequel 1883 (starring Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill); and spinoff 6666 (still in the development stages). Other shows that are not part of the Dutton world include the Billy Bob Thornton-led drama Land Man; the David Oyelowo-led Bass Reeves (also in development); Sylvester Stalone starrer Tulsa King; the Zoe Saldana fronted Lioness; and the Jeremy Renner vehicle Mayor of Kingstown.

All of the Sheridan shows, save for the flagship Yellowstone, stream on Paramount+ as the platform continues to be the media company’s biggest priority. Sheridan is in his second, nine-figure overall deal with Paramount Global.

1932 is produced in-house by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions. Exec producers include Sheridan, John Linson, Art Linson, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari and Ben Richardson.

Mirren’s credits include Prime Suspect and HBO’s Catherine the Great miniseries. The actress earned a best actress Oscar for her role in 2007’s The Queen and has earned Primetime Emmys for her work in Prime Suspect, The Passion of Ayn Rand and Elizabeth I. She’s repped by CAA.

Ford, meanwhile, recently signed on to star in the Apple comedy series Shrinking from Ted Lasso’s Bill Lawrence, Goldstein and Jason Segel (who also toplines the show). The part is the Star Wars and Indiana Jones favorite’s first ongoing TV series role in a comedy. 1932 will become Ford’s first dramatic series regular part. The actor counts a number of guest roles on TV series in the 1960s and ’70s. He recently wrapped filming on Indiana Jones 5 and starred in the 2020 adaptation of The Call of the Wild. Ford is repped by UTA and Ziffren Brittenham.