‘1923’ Season 2 Premiere Addresses Cole Brings Plenty’s Passing—How the Show Handles His Role
The first episode of season two was dedicated to the late actor.
The season two premiere of 1923 was dedicated to the late Cole Brings Plenty.
Brings Plenty, who went by “Coco,” played Pete Plenty Clouds in season one. (His uncle, Mo Brings Plenty, starred as Mo in Yellowstone.) The role of Pete was recast in season two, and is now played by actor Jeremy Gauna.
Still, he was deeply was missed on the set of the show’s second season, particularly by his costar Aminah Nieves, who plays Teonna. “I’m so happy to return for season two, especially able to finish out the chapter with Teonna and then honor our brother Coco, Cole Brings Plenty. It was very difficult, but also a great reward,” she tells T&C.
“In season two, Coco—he was definitely there in spirit. JP Gauna, he came in and was able to honor Coco in that sense,” she continues. “Being able to share a screen with someone who was also friends with Coco, and who took it in stride and wanted to honor him as best as he could—and did his damn best, he’s incredible—really helped us all feel kind of safe and protected.”
Returning to set, Nieves says, “Coco was definitely there whispering in the wind. I’ll tell you what—I promise you—oh my gosh, I remember the first day [back on] set. I was alone in the back, in the trees, and I just heard him reverberating off of my body and my ears and I just wept. He was there. The whole season, he was always there.”
Cole Brings Plenty died at age 27 in April 2024 after he was reported missing by his family; no cause of death was revealed, and court documents associated with the investigation into his death were later sealed. No foul play was suspected, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. After, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe—of which Brings Plenty was a citizen—called for a “full and thorough investigation into Cole’s disappearance and subsequent death.”
“I learned through this series of events that our police department must work harder to increase trust with our Native American community members,” Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart said at the time. “Through meeting with Cole’s family members and members of our Native American community, I clearly see that we are not where we need to be in partnering with a community that is very important to Lawrence’s history and to its current culture.”
On the first episode of 1923 being dedicated to Cole Brings Plenty, Nieves said: “It should be. It should be. It’s everything.”
The season 2 premiere of 1923 is now streaming on Paramount+.
