Following the success of the 2018 Paramount Network series Yellowstone, featuring Kevin Costner, the showmakers returned with a prequel to the series called 1923. Premiering in December 2022, the crime drama television show starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, turned out to be an epic.
However, considering the eye-watering amount that went into the production of 1923, it seems that Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren teaming up somehow impacted the cost. Spending a mind-boggling amount of $500,000 per minute, the show became one of the most expensive productions in the history of television.
1923 Had an Eye-watering Amount of Production Cost
Kevin Costner‘s 2018 drama series Yellowstone, became one of the most renowned television shows, boasting an inflated budget. Thus, reaching grand success, the show creator Taylor Sheridan began working on a prequel story to Yellowstone. That’s when he came up with 1923.
Featuring a stellar cast consisting of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, 1923 premiered in December 2022, on Paramount+. Being a part of the Yellowstone universe, 1923 is supposed to bring forthcoming sequels including 1883, 6666, and more. However, shockingly, Taylor Sheridan’s 2022 prequel story itself surpassed $500M annually, in productions.
Apparently, according to The Wall Street Journal, Paramount has invested $200M solely for the first installment of 1923. For the initial eight episodes that aired, featuring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as ranchers during the Great Depression, has already amounted to roughly $500,000 per minute.
What Increased Harrison Ford’s Show’s Production Cost?
There’s no denying that even Yellowstone boasted an inflated production cost, but 1923 seems to spend an eye-watering amount of production, per minute of screentime. There are several similar shows to that of the 2022 iteration, but none costs as much as 1923, thus making it one of the most expensive productions in the history of television.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Paramount’s rushed timeline for airing 1923 had a massive impact on the show’s production costs. Apparently, Taylor Sheridan had to reduce the number of episodes from ten to eight, which resulted in a surge in expenses. Further, featuring Harrison Ford had its own impact.
Paramount couldn’t deny Harrison Ford‘s passion for flying, which ended up causing a rise in production cost, as the flight insurance coverage turned out to be quite costly. Apart from that filming across multiple international locations had a significant impact on the expenses.
Watch Yellowstone and 1923 on Paramount+.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
