Everyone knows that Taylor Sheridan is truly one of the greatest legendary masterminds in the entertainment industry, having created not only the epic Yellowstone show but also a series of spin-offs that serve and will serve as its prequels and sequels. But did you know that one of his spin-off series even beat the blockbuster Game of Thrones saga in one aspect?
As it turns out, this is only true, especially when talking about his most recent spin-off show 1923, which will soon be spawning a second season that was delayed due to the strikes. And as hard as it may be to believe, Sheridan is pretty confident that this particular series of his has managed to surpass even GoT when it comes to the budget its first season has been created on.
Taylor Sheridan’s 1923 Beats Game of Thrones with a Greater Budget?
Back in 2022, when the first season of the Harrison Ford-starrer series was yet to be launched, Sheridan got into an interview with Deadline to discuss more about it. It was during this that he also claimed that the show had truly surpassed even the greatest of series like GoT when it came to the budget it required to make.
Speaking with Deadline, he said:
“I would argue that 1883 was the most expensive first season of a TV show ever made. This was much more expensive. Much more expensive. I don’t know what the Game of Thrones budgets were, but I don’t know how they could have been more than this.”
While this is indeed surprising, it is more or less true when considering the first season of both of these respective series. In fact, even Taylor Sheridan‘s claim about 1883 being one of the most expensive first seasons of a show created in the history of entertainment is true because the series actually had a fatter budget than GoT.
According to what Sheridan honestly specified during the same interview, this second prequel of Yellowstone from 2022 had a budget of about a whopping $22 million per episode, and that too, just for the first season of the saga. However, this is pretty much just a number presumably specified on an average basis.
This stands true because of the end numbers later shared by the Wall Street Journal. As per their report, the total final cost of this exact first season of Sheridan’s second spin-off series after 1883 reportedly went up to a staggering $200 million. What makes all of this all the more surprising is that these numbers were invested for a mere 8 episodes.
Now, comparing it with the big bucks invested in the first season of Game of Thrones, the results would very well shock you. According to the numbers reported by The Hollywood Reporter, season 1 of this superhit gruesome television show was actually made on an estimated budget of around $50 million to $60 million.
While the overall budget in itself proves the massive difference between the two, this gets even more interesting when breaking down GoT‘s budget to the money that was allotted per episode for the first season. Considering how there were only 10 episodes in season 1, it comes down to roughly $5 million to $6 million per episode. Surprised yet?
Well, that isn’t all, because even 1883 held a similarly surprising tale!
Before 1923, 1883 was the One Surpassing GoT‘s Budget
While this above-done comparison truly lands a great margin to surpass, what makes it all the more unbelievable is the fact that just the first season of 1883 pretty much surpassed these very numbers that were invested in the first season of GoT. And yes, this happened before the Harrison Ford-starrer was even created.
According to the numbers mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter, 1883 was allotted a budget of $175 million for its first season, and they managed to finish it within $169 million. Breaking it down among the 11 episodes that season 1 of the series consisted of, 1883 gets a price tag of around $15.3 million per episode, which is still greater than GoT.
While GoT‘s grit and gory being made on this much budget would have been understandable, the fact that the “six thousand sheep and three thousand cattle” along with the multiple shooting locations cost this much for these spin-off series of Kevin Costner‘s saga is also only understandable and makes it pretty much worth every penny.
You can stream Game of Thrones on HBO, and 1923 and 1883 on Paramount+.
