(This story contains spoilers from 1883, 1923 And Yellowstone Season five, so far.)

With each new series of the mega hit Yellowstone Franchise is creating a new generation of Duttons. After launching in 2018 with Kevin Costner’s central patriarch John Dutton and his immediate family, creator Taylor Sheridan traveled back in time to expand the franchise and introduce older generations of Duttons, starting with the single season of 1883 and now with the series 1923whose second and final season is currently being produced.

The Dutton family tree has branched out as Yellowstone has aired, with the flagship series currently halfway through its fifth and final season. Initially, viewers followed James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill) on their family’s perilous journey west across the Great Plains in 1883a hike that would ultimately lead to the Yellowstone Ranch of the flagship series. And later 1923 would introduce audiences to Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren), the Duttons who rebuild Yellowstone Ranch after the untimely deaths of James and Margaret.

Since both sequel series were released decades before YellowstoneEven before John (Costner) is born, it is helpful to understand who is who in the family saga, especially since looking back at the past helps to rearrange the present. Yellowstone was repeated on Sundays on CBS and 1883 And 1923 are available to stream on Paramount+. The second half of the final season of Yellowstone was postponed due to a contract dispute with Costner that preceded the strikes and his eventual exit from the flagship series, and will return with the final episodes starting November 10. Two more spin-off series have since been planned.

Below, The Hollywood Reporter analyzes each generation of the Duttons and also includes information about what we learned through interviews with Sheridan and his extensive cast.

James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill); Claire née Dutton (Dawn Olivieri); Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren)

1883 launched in 2021 on Paramount+, three years after YellowstoneThe Western miniseries, set in 1883, was narrated by main character Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), daughter of James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill). The prequel series traced the Dutton line back to James Dutton and his sister Claire, née Dutton (played by Dawn Olivieri; the actress who would also play fixer Sarah Atwood in later seasons of). Yellowstone), who committed suicide at the beginning of the season. Her daughter Mary Abel (Emma Malouff) also died; viewers never met Claire’s husband, Henry Dutton. Viewers later met James and Claire’s brother in 1923: Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his wife Cara (Helen Mirren).

Elsa Dutton (Isabel May); Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer); John Sr. (James Badge Daly) and Emma Dutton (Marley Shelton)

The opening of 1883 set the tone for what was to come in the series when it began with a flash-forward: the scene that would bring about the untimely death of heroine Elsa. Her spirit, however, would live on in the franchise as May narrated the next prequel series, 1923. Speaking from the grave, Elsa informed viewers that her parents, James and Margaret, had died after the events of 1883; first James, then Margaret. But before her death, Margaret wrote a letter to her husband’s brother, Jacob, who then found and raised Elsa’s surviving brothers, John Sr. and Spencer.

1883 Viewers first met John Sr. as a young boy, played by Audie Rick. Spencer, however, was not yet born.

“After my father died, my mother wrote to his brother and begged him to take his family to this wild land and save hers,” Elsa explained in the voiceover in 1923“A year later, he came and found my mother frozen to death in a snowdrift. Her two sons were half-starved and barely able to speak. He raised them as his own children and turned my father’s dream into an empire. Then the empire fell apart.”

Sheridan explained his decision to move the series to 1923: “I chose this time to look back because you see the children we had in 1883 and trying to raise another generation of Duttons.” Yellowstone Viewers will remember a flashback in season four that introduced James and Margaret, as well as a young John and Spencer, when James was shot (this scene served as an audition for real-life couple McGraw and Hill, which gave Sheridan the idea to put them front and center 1883).

1923 introduced the boys as adults, with John Sr. played by James Badge Dale and Spencer by Brandon Sklenar. John Sr., who had no children with his wife Emma (Marley Shelton), suffers early in 1923which focuses the series on Spencer and uses him as the Dutton who Yellowstone Ranch by an ailing Jacob. Season one ended with a cliffhanger full of Spencer when he was separated from his new bride Alex (Julia Schlaepfer).

Jack (Darren Mann) and Liz Dutton (Michelle Randolph)

After five seasons Yellowstone and travel back in time to 1883 And 1923One overarching question remains: Who is John Dutton’s grandfather? Yellowstone Viewers met his elderly father, John Dutton Sr., played by Dabney Coleman, in a flashback in season two. John’s mother has not been seen or mentioned by name. Now that audiences have met the generation that followed him in 1923A mystery game has even begun among the actors of the franchise as to which character will turn out to be the Dutton son who Yellowstone family line.

Some viewers believe Spencer is John’s grandfather and he and Alex may have a child later. Others believe John Sr.’s son Jack (Darren Mann) will take on that role. Later episodes of 1923 revealed that Jack’s pregnant wife Liz (Michelle Randolph) had a miscarriage and she and Jack accepted that they may not be able to have a child. According to Sklenar, Sheridan has not yet revealed who is who, not even to the cast. “That’s something Taylor keeps very secret. I have my own theories, but they need to be told, written and seen. He keeps moving all that stuff around,” Sklenar said THR during the first season (and repeated after the finale). “We like to discuss what we think,” Randolph reiterated.

Yellowstone Star Wes Bentley said something similar when asked about his on-screen father’s lineage. “I’ve seen the flow charts (of the Dutton family tree) online. But I’m waiting for Taylor to actually reveal something. I know how he writes. So I’m going to wipe that out for now. Good first draft, but we’ll see what comes later,” he said. THR after the midseason finale of the fifth season of Yellowstone.

And even for the franchise’s omniscient narrator, it’s still a mystery. “You could spend your time theorizing, that’s your business. I’d rather just know! Eventually, we’ll all know,” May recently said THR.

John (Kevin Costner) and Evelyn Dutton (Gretchen Mol)

If we jump to John Dutton III (Costner), we come back to the Yellowstone Flagship series that follows the Montana rancher (turned politician in season 5) and his children as the family desperately tries to preserve their ranch in changing times. Following the death of his young wife Evelyn Dutton (Gretchen Mol), the family suffers another untimely death when his eldest child, Lee Dutton (Dave Annable), is killed in the series premiere. Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) remain alive and kicking in season 5. John’s brother Peter, it is also revealed, died shortly after the birth of his child.

Lee Dutton (Dave Annable); Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley); Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser); Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille)

The spirit of Lee returned at a key moment Yellowstone in season four to accompany Kayce on a vision quest that would change the course of his story. While Kayce follows his own path with his wife Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille) and their surviving son Tate (Brecken Merrill), the battle for the legacy of Yellowstone focuses on estranged siblings Jamie and Beth, who were last seen on the show fighting each other. On Beth’s side of the fight were John and her husband Rip (Cole Hauser), who plays Yellowstone’s devoted ranch hand. However, after months of speculation following a scheduling dispute over Costner’s passion film franchise, horizonthe star, who hosts the show as John Dutton, announced that he will be leaving the series before the final season. Viewers will have to wait and see how creator Sheridan handles the passing of John Dutton when season five returns.

The future Duttons

Prepubescent Tate Dutton, son of Kayce and Monica, is the leader of the youngest generation of Duttons. Jamie’s unnamed young son with his ex Christina (Katherine Cunningham) is largely absent in the fifth season. Beth and husband Rip have now almost adopted cowboy teenager Carter (Finn Little), but he is not a Dutton blood relative.

And now new characters have been added to the future timeline with the announcement of The Madisonthe sequel series that will take place after the events of Yellowstone and Michelle Pfeiffer will play the lead role. It remains to be seen what relationship her character has with the Duttons, if any, but the series was originally described as one that would feature both new and familiar faces and locations. Here’s the official synopsis: “The Madison is a soulful study of grief and human connection that follows a New York family in the Madison River Valley of central Montana.”

This story was first published on September 25, 2023.