Who is Spencer Dutton in ‘1923?’ ‘Yellowstone’ prequel, explained

The first episode of the Yellowstone prequel 1923 premieres Dec. 18 on Paramount Plus and we’re excited to meet a new generation of Duttons! For those who are already fans of Yellowstone, the new show will follow a similar structure as it tells the story of our favorite ranch before it became the one we know and love today.

1923 will follow the ranch in a previous era and will primarily focus on an earlier iteration of the Dutton family during the years just before the Great Depression. The main stars of the prequel are Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton. In addition to the Dutton patriarch and matriarch, we’ll also follow various younger members of the Dutton clan as they face trials and tribulations of their own throughout the season.

One of these family members is Spencer Dutton, a character we’ve seen before in flashback sequences on Yelllowstone.

Who is Spencer Dutton?

Spencer Dutton is Jacob’s nephew and is the younger brother of John Dutton Sr., Jacob’s right-hand man. Spencer is said to have witnessed terrible, life-changing events during the first World War and he carries that trauma with him. We’ll see throughout the season how his time in the war changed him.

We were first introduced to Spencer as a young child in a short flashback scene in season four of Yellowstone with his father James Dutton, played by Tim McGraw, who’s one of the stars of other Yellowstone prequel series 1883. In 1923, Spencer is a fully grown adult and the trailer shows him using his gun skills on what seems to be a hunting expedition of sorts.

Spencer is played by actor Brandon Sklenar, who played the role of Edward Mapplethorpe in the 2018 biopic Mapplethorpe. Sklenar has kept a relatively low-profile over the years but has also appeared in shows like Westworld and Paramount Plus show The Offer.

What is 1923 about?

The official Paramount Plus descriptions reads: “1923 focuses on the Dutton family’s next two generations as they struggle to survive historic drought, lawlessness and Prohibition, and an epidemic of cattle theft; all battled beneath the cloud of Montana’s great depression, which preceded the nation by almost a decade.”

The show has a sizable cast filled with Hollywood icons and up-and-coming fresh faces. 1923 picks up about 40 years after the events in 1883.

The first episode of 1923 is streaming now on Paramount Plus and will premiere on Paramount after tonight’s newest episode of Yellowstone.