'Marshals' Review: A Bold New Dutton Spin-Off Officially Rewrites Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’

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Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton on horseback in Marshals

Published Feb 22, 2026, 12:00 PM EST

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters. At Collider, he writes features and reviews, and has interviewed the cast and crew of Dark Winds. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own. His first work of self-published fiction – The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain – became a #1 Best Seller in "Religious Fiction Short Stories" on Amazon in 2023. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" from the Western Writers of America in 2025. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.

How does one follow up the international neo-Western phenomenon that is Yellowstone? That's a variation of the question that executive producers Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, and Spencer Hudnut undoubtedly asked when coming up with the Luke Grimes-led Kayce Dutton spin-off. Ultimately, they decided that it was best not to try to copy what made Yellowstone a hit in the first place, instead pivoting Kayce's story to network television for an action-packed procedural that aims to make a new name for itself, despite maintaining the same "Y" brand. Jumping from Paramount Network to CBS, Marshals is a new beginning for Kayce Dutton, one full of potential to do with the character what Yellowstone simply could not.

'Marshals' Isn't Trying To Be 'Yellowstone' 2.0, and That's a Good Thing

Having seen the first three episodes of Marshals, it's clear that the series (like Kayce himself) is doing its best to break from the past, even if it still clings tightly to it. Although riddled with Yellowstone references that may go over the heads of those unfamiliar with Sheridan's larger Dutton-verse, Marshals carves out its own identity from the get-go by trimming Kayce's supporting cast and infusing the drama with new faces that have no ties to his family's complicated Montana history. Further separating Marshals from Yellowstone is the opening sequence, which throws Kayce and his SEAL brother Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green) into the fray of an active war zone. Although Yellowstone mentioned Kayce's time in combat, it did so quite sparingly and without actually showing the former SEAL in action. Marshals is doing things differently regarding this often forgotten aspect of Kayce's life, teasing us with his past before thrusting us back into the present.

The series premiere, "Piya Wiconi" (which is Lakota for "New Beginning"), doesn't exactly ease the viewer into this new normal for Kayce Dutton. Sure, we still see the cowboy on horseback rounding up cattle and keeping predators at bay, joined by his son Tate (Brecken Merrill, also returning from Yellowstone). The familiar theme music by Brian Taylor (joined here by Breton Vivian) peruses in the sprawling Western background. But it isn't too long before Marshals reminds us that Kayce's life isn't what it was 15 months earlier. The series wastes no time riding straight into the action, clumsily recruiting Kayce for a small operation with the U.S. Marshals that puts newcomer Calvin and his team — including Belle Skinner (Arielle Kebbel), Miles Kittle (Tatanka Means), and Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos) — on the trail of a possible terror attack on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation. Aiming to see this thing through, Kayce joins the team in protecting tribal chairman Thomas Rainwater (Yellowstone star Gil Birmingham), though things don't go according to plan. As Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) tells Kayce, "Violence has a way of finding the Duttons."

Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton on the phone in Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 12.

While the premiere is admittedly a bit choppy, still trying to find its own unique voice beyond the shadow that is Taylor Sheridan's usual flavor of dialogue, the follow-up episodes ("Zone of Death" and "Road to Nowhere") come into their own. It's here that Marshals secures its tone, its camaraderie, and its CBS-style direction. Unlike Yellowstone, many of the usual network television trimmings and trappings are on full display here, though it fits the atmosphere that this neo-Western procedural is attempting to create. The Marshals have a home base of operations, Kayce works to juggle his new position and his relationship with his son, and our hero has more than a few skeletons in the family closet that he would sooner avoid revealing. They've even got a tough cookie of a boss who wastes no time gunning for the new guy in Harry Gifford (Brett Cullen, who is no stranger to Western-based network television himself). Marshals isn't Yellowstone, and perhaps one of the best things about it is that it's not trying to be.

Luke Grimes Is Stepping Into His Own as Kayce Dutton on 'Marshals'

Of course, what really ties Marshals together is Luke Grimes, who does double duty here as an executive producer. After playing Kayce Dutton for five seasons on a prestige TV horse opera, Grimes finally has the chance to explore Kayce in earnest without being bogged down by an overbearing father, bickering siblings, or a nagging wife (sorry, Monica). No doubt, Kayce is tortured by Monica's (Kelsey Asbille) absence (something addressed quickly in the premiere), but he's the type who can also pull himself up by his bootstraps, focus on the mission, and redirect his energy toward the task at hand. Back when the final batch of Yellowstone episodes was airing, I'd postulated that, upon investigating his father's death, Kayce had found his true calling. After years of aimless wandering and uninspired plot recycling, Sheridan had finally given the character depth as a would-be lawman on the trail of the truth. In fact, my only wish for Marshals was that it would fix Kayce's uneven character motivations. It appears that the wish has been granted — for the most part.

Grimes carries the series with ease, graduating from being a supporting cast member roaming alongside Kevin Costner's shadow to the leading man of his own cowboy-flavored crime drama. However, what sets Kayce apart from the usual neo-Western lawmen who we've come to love over the years — the leads of Longmire and Justified come to mind — is that Kayce hasn't let himself drown in personal tragedy, nor does he seek out the badge. After his previous role as Livestock Commissioner, Kayce had no interest in returning to law enforcement. And yet, his role as a U.S. Marshal is far more interesting than anything he was on Yellowstone. Between the family secrets (the Duttons' infamous "Train Station" being a big one in the second episode), the balancing act between being a father, a rancher, and now a lawman, and his brand-new work dynamics, Marshals has conjured up enough Dutton drama to last several years.

Naturally, Grimes isn't the only Yellowstone cast member returning for more. Including Gil Birmingham and Mo Brings Plenty in the sequel series was a novel move on creator Spencer Hudnut's part (Hudnut penned the first two episodes), as they offer a direct connection to both Broken Rock and the flagship Dutton series. In the wake of his own father's death, Kayce's relationship with Rainwater and Mo is an almost paternal one, and it appears that the dynamic will only be further embellished as the show continues. Rainwater, like Kayce, rarely ever got his due on Yellowstone. Here's hoping Marshals can change that. Speaking of paternal relationships, Brecken Merrill also returns as Kayce's son, Tate, and though there has been no shortage of complaints about his uninspired performance on Yellowstone, Marshals offers Merrill meatier material that plays to his strengths. It helps that Tate is interested in things other than just ranching.

For Better or Worse, 'Marshals' Feels Like Network Television

It's no secret that Yellowstone lost something when it was cut down for network television. The exclusion of graphic violence, sexualized content, and abrasive language was a shock to fans who had grown accustomed to Taylor Sheridan's way of doing things. That said, for a show like Marshals — which is far more akin to a police procedural than it is a cable soap opera — the change is quite effective. After all, most of those elements that would've been cut by broadcast standards and practices were rarely a part of Kayce's story to begin with (with a few minor exceptions). But don't let that fool you, this show still contains plenty of action and drama. In the first episode alone, Kayce gets into three separate physical altercations — and that's not even counting the opening Modern Warfare-based sequence.

Of course, there are some downsides to the shift from Paramount to CBS. While the overall visual quality of the show remains high caliber, the dialogue isn't always up to par. While it does get better as each episode progresses, we can probably count on two hands how many times the word "frogman" is reiterated in the first episode alone, not to mention how often the characters remind one another of Kayce's uber-famous Dutton family, which is a bit strange, given how infrequently that was the case on Yellowstone. As is typical of network television, expect some repetition — especially if you're watching episodes back-to-back. Additionally, the pilot plows through its content to establish the new Marshals status quo, giving the audience far less room to breathe than Sheridan did (though, to be fair, Sheridan often gave us too much room to breathe). Still, after an understandably uncomfortable transition from feature-quality, extended cable network parameters to the stricter network television standards and runtime — each episode clocks in at 42 minutes — it doesn't come as a surprise that this Yellowstone sequel needs a minute to catch up.

Marshals is a neo-Western that is chock-full of potential. It's action-packed, thrilling, and full of everything you could ask for in a Kayce Dutton-led series that fights hard to divorce itself from the "Y" that still lingers in the background. It's not perfect, nor does it claim to be, but once it gets through the initial growing pains, it will be able to stand firmly on its own. The chemistry between Grimes and Marshall-Green is exactly what the bond between two ex-SEALs should be, and it's not hard to like the rest of the Marshals cast as well, especially as we begin to learn more about them. No, it's not Yellowstone, but Marshals doesn't need to be. As Kayce Dutton learned by the very end of the original series, he can forge a new path and start again. So far, that new beginning has our attention, even if Sheridan is no longer in the saddle.

Marshals premieres March 1 on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Release Date 2026 - 2026

Directors Greg Yaitanes

Pros & Cons

Kayce Dutton works better in a tactical, procedural-style element where he can put his life on the line to help others
The returning Yellowstone cast don't feel shoehorned in, but interact naturally with the new network style.
The new cast members are all generally likable, especially Logan Marshall-Green.
Marshals is accessible for Yellowstone fans and newcomers alike.

While shedding the typical "Sheridan speak" is good, some of Marshals' dialogue could use some fine tuning
Yellowstone fans may feel alienated by the show's strict procedural tone.

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