‘Yellowstone’ gives boring Kayce a ‘Marshals’ spinoff: review

Hold your horses, the first “Yellowstone” spinoff is here.

Premiering Sunday, March 1 on CBS (8 p.m.) and Paramount+, “Marshals” follows Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) as he joins a team of US Marshals led by his old pal, Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green), a new endeavor that combines Kayce’s cowboy prowess with his military background. 

The obvious question: how does it compare to “Yellowstone?” It’s a mixed bag, but it does have a lot to offer fans of the original show. 

As a brief refresher, “Yellowstone” was a hit drama created by Taylor Sheridan that aired on Paramount from 2018 to 2024. It was essentially cowboy “Succession,” following patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner, who was allegedly involved in behind the scenes drama) and his adult children, Kayce, Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley). As Pete says on “Marshals,” the Duttons were the Rockefellers of Montana, more or less.

After the events of the series, Beth and her husband, Rip (Cole Hauser) ,are Kayce’s only Dutton family left alive (and they’re getting their own spinoff, too, at an unannounced date). 

Now, Kayce is moving on.

If “Yellowstone” was cowboy “Succession,” this new show is cowboy “SEAL Team” (which makes sense, since “Marshals” is produced by Sheridan but created by Spencer Hudnut, an alum of that show). 

The main problem plaguing “Marshals” is that it exists because “Yellowstone” was a hit, not because Kayce is a riveting character. He was always the most boring member of the Dutton family. Audiences tuned in to “Yellowstone” to watch Costner be a gruff cowboy, Beth do outrageous antics, and Jamie scheme. Kayce was always just…there. 

Astutely, “Marshals” seems aware of this. Kayce lacks the charisma to carry his own show, but “Marshals” co-lead Marshall-Green has it in spades. 

It also pads out the ensemble with new characters on their team, including Belle Skinner (Arielle Kebbel), Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos) and Miles Kittle (Tatanka Means). 

They’re all fairly generic stock characters – the rookie, the stoic career woman – but they’ve got a glimmer of interest that could carry the story forward. They do missions like busting drug deals in remote locations, (conveniently requiring the gang to ride on horseback). It also revisits “Yellowstone’s” plot lines about corporate greed threatening the environment, and the local Native American reservation.

As for the show’s “Yellowstone” connection, it’s both a strength and a weakness. 

Viewers who skipped “Yellowstone” might be lost by the frequent references to Kayce’s past and the Dutton family. If they’re willing to roll with some mild confusion, however, it’s watchable as a standalone show. On the other hand, for diehard “Yellowstone” fans, there are familiar faces such as Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and Mo (Mo Brings Plenty). But, they might be left wanting, since the obvious crossover characters are Beth and Rip, who are name-dropped, but nowhere to be seen. 

“Marshals” isn’t anything deep. It’s meat and potatoes, not a Michelin star meal. There’s already been a better show about a US Marshal (FX’s “Justified” starring Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins), and it doesn’t reach those heights. 

It’s a basic gritty drama that should appeal to CBS’s core audience of Gen X and boomer dads – or, audiences who enjoy shows like “S.W.A.T.” and “SEAL Team.” That’s not a criticism; it’s a legitimate category of entertainment. 

If you’re not into that hybrid genre that combines elements of cop shows, military, and procedurals — with a dash of cowboy action — it probably won’t have much to offer. But, if you enjoy it, “Marshals” delivers that.

It’s not high art, and it’s not trying to be. It’s a solid sequel series that captures the tone of “Yellowstone,” while also doing something different. On that level, it succeeds. That’s what a spinoff show should be.