Drama series Yellowstone’s growth into a fully-fledged television universe has been truly remarkable to behold.
When it made its debut back in June 2018, the modern Western introduced audiences to John Dutton III (Kevin Costner) and his attempts to run Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, all while battling family drama, as well the intervention of the national park services, developers and the Broken Rock Indian Reservation.
Created, directed, and written by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan (Sicario, Hell or High Water), Yellowstone quickly struck a chord with audiences. They were enamoured with the family-squabbling and hyper-dramatic plots, as well as the show’s beautiful cinematography, which showed its characters at one with nature as they ran the ranch, all against stunning shots of mountains and scenery.
The show continues to be hugely popular with audiences, so much so that it recently started its fifth season. More than that, the prequel series 1883, set more than 130 years before Yellowstone, showed how the Duttons came to originally own the land.
Sheridan is far from done, too. His latest addition to the Yellowstone television universe is 1923, the follow-up series to 1883. It stars screen legends Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton, the patriarch and matriarch of the Dutton family and ranch, who have to try and endure and overcome a number of setbacks throughout the 1920s, including a drought, competition from other ranchers, the Prohibition era and the Great Depression.
“One of the real draws for me was the opportunity to work with Helen again,” Ford recently told a round-table of reporters over Zoom at the press day for 1923. “She was the first one on board [for the show].”
Ford and Mirren had previously played a married couple in the 1986 film The Mosquito Coast.
Unsurprisingly, Ford was also attracted to the opportunity to work with Sheridan. When he first read the scripts for 1923, the actor was hugely impressed by the way that Sheridan had articulated his initial, verbal ambition for the show on the page.
“He puts the mythology of the cowboy and American history under the tension of truth, “ explains Ford. “There's a [big] degree of distance between what America represents itself as and how it behaves.”
More than that, though, Ford was attracted to the character of Jacob, describing him as a “dense and complicated” individual, who was actually a bit of a “challenge” to portray.
“He has hard choices to make. He makes those hard choices like an animal with his back against the wall. It's very interesting to me,” says Ford. “Cowboys are resolute. They’re stern. They're tough," he later said. "We know that about cowboys. But Taylor has given me the opportunity to express that in contexts that we don't see very often.”
Rather than focusing his research on Yellowstone, Ford instead made sure to watch every episode of 1883, as it preceded the actions of his character.
“I love the work that Kevin [Costner’s] doing. I love the show. But 1883 was more important for me to concentrate on,” continues Ford. “It was very useful in helping me understand the way of this storytelling.”
Another key part of Ford’s process of playing Jacob was finding the exact right costume. Ford insists that once he finds the perfect outfit for his characters, “he’s part of the way to finding the man.”
Of course, having played Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise, as well as Indiana Jones, Ford’s mere presence on screen is enough to entice and excite viewers. Always humble, the star attributes his huge success over the last 50 years to the talented people behind the camera.
“I mean, the range of directors I've had the opportunity to work with certainly has been extraordinary. I've been very, very lucky. I also came up at a time when the movie business was so closely connected to culture. We had such an influence on culture. It was really [a] very good time for the movie business.”
At this point, Ford doesn’t actually see any difference between shooting a show such as 1923 for television, and a blockbuster feature film such as Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny, which will be released next summer.
“We used to think of television as having less ambition for actors than feature films. It's no longer the case at all. 1923 is one of the most ambitious undertakings I've ever taken on. I'm so pleased with what I've seen so far. I’ve been enjoying working with very high-quality actors and actresses. We have the [same] technical capacity or ambition to shoot this as a feature film. I'm thrilled with the whole project.”
There is one major bonus for Ford when it comes to shooting 1923 over Star Wars and Indiana Jones, though.
“We’re spending a lot more time outdoors in real places rather than on sets that have to be manufactured to create a reality. The minute you walk out into that cold, and you're in your 1923 costume, you begin to understand what the real life of a cowboy is like.”
1923 is out now on Paramount+
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
