Following a two-year hiatus, Season 2 ofYellowstone’s spin-off1923debuted on June 20, 2025. As Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) deal with the harsh winter weather in Montana, descendant Spencer (Brandon Skelnar) and his English wife Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) are en route to bolster the family after spending time in Africa during World War I.
As the Duttons usher in a new decade, prohibition, the stock market crash, and the Great Depression at the turn of the decade,1923becomes a perfect companion to the 1930s-set TV seriesPerry Mason. While one is a Western frontier drama and the other a classic detective series, both shows do an incredible job of bringing the 1930s to life and depicting the cultural and socioeconomic challenges in one of the hardest decades in U.S. history.
perry mason
The ‘Perry Mason’ Reboot Is Another Great HBO Show
Ron Fitzgerald and Rolin Jones createdPerry Masonfor HBO,a classic detectivemystery drama launched in June 2020. Although exploring the seedy underbelly of sunny Los Angeles in 1932, the crushing socioeconomics Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) deals with are on par with the challenges facing the Duttons in the same decade. The character-driven origin story highlights how Los Angeles has flourished while the rest of America has crumbled under the ruinous rubble caused by World War I and The Great Depression.
In Season 1, Mason is hired to find out who kidnapped a male infant and stitched his eyes open postmortem. Mason encounters several shady individuals during his investigation, proving his keen detective skills as he works his way to becoming a top criminal defense attorney. In Season 2, Mason attempts to keep his fledgling law firm afloat in 1933, and he sets his sights on Mateo and Rafael Gallardo, two minority siblings accused of murder.
How Perry Mason Became a Must-Watch Show
Perry Mason had become a must-see show in its second season, and its cancelation is an unfortunate decision.
Perry Masonlasted two seasons and 16 episodes, airing between 2020 and 2023.While it tells a different story and has more of a mysterious tone than1923,the exquisite period detail, authentic 1930s costumes, cars, and set designs link the two series beyond the socioeconomic themes. Yet, with the never-ending streaming options, the countless TV programs, not to mention unfair comparisons to the 1957Perry MasonTV series, the 2020 version remains overlooked.
Where to Stream ‘Perry Mason’ and Why It’s Underrated
Canceled after two seasons despite earning stellar critical and audience reviews,Perry Masonhas appealed more to viewers than1923. For instance,1923boasts a 95% Rotten Tomatoes critic score and a 58% audience score. By contrast,Perry Masonholds an 80% score from critics and 76% from audiences, indicating equal appeal across parties.
Critics may enjoy the lush photography and Ford and Mirren’s performances in1923, but general TV watchers are far less impressed. The preponderance ofsubplots and charactershas become too confusing to keep up with. Meanwhile, Perry Mason strikes the perfect balance of artistic prestige and amusing entertainment, allowing viewers of all stripes to invest in the story. With 1.7 million cross-platform viewers,Perry Masonbecame the best HBO premiere in two years (viaDeadline).
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From the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones to the revolutionary teen drama Euphoria, HBO series represent some of the best on TV.
Yet, despite early record viewership, superb marks for its performances, production values, set design, and credible recreation of 1930s Los Angeles,Perry Masonwas overlooked during awards time, earning not a single notable accolade following its 16-episode run.The underrated detective showbecame an afterthought as viewership waned to the point of cancelation.
The narrative may veer quite drastically from1923. Yet those who enjoy how1923paints the periphery with impending war, reconstruction, illegal alcohol sales, racketeering, underground crime, and the economic necessities caused by the stock market crash and The Great Depression should see how much betterPerry Masonis at entertaining these weighty themes.Perry Masonis available to stream onMax.
‘1923’ Is Still a Hit on Paramount+
Taylor Sheridan created1923for Paramount+, aYellowstonespin-off that explores the Dutton family’s ancestral origins. The story tracks Jacob and Cara Dutton in Montana during the 1920s and 1930s during challenging upheaval in America. Childless, the Duttons raise their nephew, Spencer Dutton, who has traveled to Africa to hunt big game after thestart of WWI. Spencer meets and marries Alexandra, an upper-class British woman who challenges his conservative upbringing with her independent-minded views.
Narrated by1883’s Elsa Dutton (Isabel May),1923connects to the overarchingYellowstonecanon by depicting generations of Duttons adapting to sweeping societal changes, including major industrialization. Each Dutton generation faces unique challenges of the times, including everything from prairie madness, vengeful business rivals, coexisting with Indigenous Americans, the political winds swirling around Yellowstone National Park, etc. In1923Season 1,Jacob and Cara’s Montana homesteading is countered by the exotic African and European travels of Brendan and Alex.
In1923Season 2, Spencer and Alex return to Montana and find the Dutton family grappling with everything from illegal alcohol rackets caused by prohibition, the economic downturn caused by the 1929 Stock Market crash, the agricultural destruction caused by the Dust Bowl, and the Great Depression of 1933. While a very different story, HBO’sPerry Masontouches on the same poignant themes as1923.1923is streaming onParamount+.
