Yellowstone may have started with that flagship show but it has since branched off into multiple spinoff series. And if you’re unaware of the Dutton family lineage, you might be wondering how shows like 1883 and 1923 connect to the Dutton family ranch. But it’s pretty simple!
The story we are embarking on is all about the Dutton family. In 1883, we get to see how the parents of John Dutton who tried to keep the ranch alive. In 1923, it is how Jacob Dutton, who is now taking care of his nieces and nephews, is fighting for the land. Essentially, we’re just watching the Dutton family go as far into their cowboy history as possible, and we get to see just how far they’re willing to go to keep Yellowstone for themselves.
But it is easier to break things down by show, so let’s talk about each series and which set of Duttons we’re on this journey with!
1883
1883 gives us a look into people outside of the Dutton family, with Shea Brennan (Sam Elliot), but we also get to see John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) great grandparents and how they tried to keep the ranch alive. The series stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw as Margaret and James Dutton, and we get to see a bit of their lineage, as well.
Margaret and James had three children: Elsa Dutton, John Dutton I, and the hottie known as Spencer Dutton. While they die outside of the series (but in a flashback sequence featured on Yellowstone), their involvement in the series is the beginning of the Dutton line as we know it.
1923
1923 is when we get even deeper into the Dutton family line. Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his wife, Cara (Helen Mirren), have no children of their own, but they take and raise James and Margaret’s children. James and Jacob had another sibling, a sister named Claire, as well. In 1923, Jacob and Cara are taking care of John, Elsa, and Spencer, but we get to see even more of Costner’s John’s family.
Jack Dutton and John Dutton II are the children of John Dutton and Emma Dutton. John Dutton II would go on to be the father of Kevin Costner’s John, and so we’re spending a bit of time with his aunts and uncles and still some of his great family.
Yellowstone
John Dutton III married Evelyn Dutton, and the two have four children. While Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) is not John’s by birth, he still considers him his son. Evelyn and John share Beth (Kelly Reilly), Kayce (Luke Grimes), and Lee Dutton (Dave Annable). Beth is with Rip (Cole Hauser), but the two have no children. Kayce is with Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and they share a son named Tate. Lee had no wife or children, and Jamie has a child with Christina.
Now that is the family tree, and it all comes back to the family ranch and just simply trying to keep it alive!
(featured image: Paramount Pictures)
