Helen Mirren’s Yellowstone Role Is Completely Subverted In MobLand

Helen Mirren is brilliant in Taylor Sheridan’s 1923, a historic prequel about Yellowstone’s Dutton family, and she plays a similar character in MobLand. However, her role is completely reversed. MobLand follows the Harrigan family, led by Maeve and Conrad Harrigan, with Mirren and Pierce Brosnan portraying the powerful matriarch and patriarch.

Like the Dutton family, the Harrigan clan is as much business partners as they are kin. The Harrigans run a crime ring in MobLand, with Tom Hardy’s Harry leading MobLand’s cast as the family’s fixer. As with the Duttons, those who surround the Harrigans help to protect the family and their operations, but the threat sometimes comes from within.

Helen Mirren Plays A Legendary Matriarch In Both 1923 & ModLand on Paramount+

Cara Dutton & Maeve Harrigan Share Key Similarities

MobLand and 1923 are similar in key ways. Not only do both shows stream on Paramount+ and explore themes of crime, family, legacy, and the moral gray areas of self-preservation, but both series also have the feel of a Taylor Sheridan show. Granted, MobLand is a British crime drama created by Ronan Bennett.

Among their similarities, Mirren plays a well-off matriarch who runs the family in both 1923 and MobLand. While both the Dutton and Harrigan families have a patriarch at their helm, Mirren is quietly running the show, giving her the same silent prowess in each series.

Mirren plays Cara Dutton in the Yellowstone franchise, and she is by far one of the most likable characters in 1923. After her counterpart, Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford), is attacked by Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), Cara steps in and leads the family, nursing Jacob back to health and stepping in for him at the Livestock Association.

MobLand’s Maeve Harrigan Is The Opposite Of 1923’s Cara Dutton

MobLand Puts A Fun Spin On Mirren’s Matriarch

Similarly, Mirren’s MobLand character is the one behind the curtain, though Maeve Harrigan plays a much more sinister matriarch. While she’s loyal to the idea of the Harrigan family and what they stand for, Maeve often acts against her own kin, aiming to slim the ranks to fit her definition of who belongs.

That said, while her characters, both Irish, both running multi-generational families with their husbands, have a similar feel, Mirren’s Maeve in MobLand couldn’t be more opposite of Cara Dutton. She is almost evil, acting maliciously, whereas Cara is nothing but loyal and honest to everyone she’s related to.

Those who enjoyed Mirren in 1923 would appreciate her in MobLand, but expect something that, while similar on the surface, totally subverts everything we know about Cara Dutton. Both shows are on Paramount+, so those who are set up to watch Taylor Sheridan’s shows can just as easily tune into MobLand.