Yellowstone spin-off Marshals has been quite the success as the formerhanded the reins to a new story, one with a familiar face and a familiar storyline. Luke Grimes, who spent years playing Kayce Dutton in the shadow of Kevin Costner’s towering John is the one carrying the narrative this time. And the result is some impressive numbers and a heartwarming response from fans.
The first episode of the Luke Grimes-led Yellowstone spinoff has now amassed 26.5 million viewers across broadcast and streaming since debuting on March 1, making it the second most-watched show on TV after Stranger Things. The series premiere drew 13 million viewers on streaming alone.
When the numbers came in, even Grimes seemed genuinely caught off guard. “That’s such a great response to the show,” he said recently speaking to Deadline, reacting to the latest viewership data, “You guys put out an article today that blew my mind about the numbers.”
Further he added,
“Obviously, it exceeded everybody’s expectations, but to me, it’s just the fact that people tuned in and showed up for it just means the world, really.”
Marshals also marked CBS’ biggest scripted premiere without a direct football lead-in since FBI debuted in 2018, which is context that underlines just how rare this kind of opening actually is.
What is Marshals about?
If you loved Yellowstone but always felt like Kayce Dutton deserved more room to breathe, Marshals is the show built specifically for you. It’s the first direct sequel in the Yellowstone universe, and is a continuation. It picks up with one of the original series’ most quietly compelling characters at a genuine crossroads in his life.
Kayce Dutton, Luke Grimes’ former Navy SEAL and rancher, has left the famous Yellowstone ranch behind. His wife Monica has been killed off-screen between the two shows, and what’s left is a man trying to figure out who he is when he’s no longer defined by the Dutton name. The answer, it turns out, is law enforcement. Kayce joins an elite unit of the U.S. Marshals Service in Montana, combining his skills as a cowboy and a SEAL to bring justice to a wide, dangerous region
The very first episode sets the tone quickly. We see Kayce reunite with an old SEAL teammate and helps his new unit hunt down a bomber targeting a Native American reservation, with the trail leading straight into a confrontation with an armed anti-government militia. Week to week, the team takes on cases gradually revealing the area’s criminal underbelly, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, political attacks.
Looking at the numbers, things are looking good for the show and with a second season renewal already in hand, we could see even more of Luke Grimes, Kayce Dutton.
Marshals is available to stream on Paramount+.
Edited by Nibir Konwar