Marshals Review: CBS' Yellowstone Spinoff Is A Prestige Procedural With A Dash Of Dutton
Nearly two years after Paramount Network's "Yellowstone" closed the gates to the Dutton Ranch, CBS is inviting viewers back inside the iconic locale via "Marshals," a crime procedural in which Luke Grimes' Kayce Dutton begins a new chapter as a member of the U.S. Marshals.
But Kayce's journey from cattle herding to fugitive hunting is made complicated by the inner conflict that comes from straddling two worlds. Can he truly serve as a Marshal while also protecting the people of the Broken Rock Reservation, to whom he swore his allegiance through marriage?
In some ways, the spinoff — helmed by former "S.E.A.L. Team" boss Spencer Hudnut — is faced with a similar challenge. "Yellowstone" may have been a soap opera, a modern-day "Dallas" with a bigger budget and looser language, but it was also a prestige cable drama. How do you maintain the integrity of Taylor Sheridan's very specific world while also checking off all the boxes necessary for a network TV procedural?
Judging by the three episodes made available for review ahead of the Sunday, March 1 premiere (8/7c), "Marshals" actually manages to serve both of its masters quite well. With its swelling score, sweeping cinematography, and gorgeous opening credits sequence (a dying art!), you'll often find yourself wondering, "Wait, am I really watching a network procedural right now?"
Then the show will do something that reminds you, "Oh, yes I am," like when it introduces the case of the week, or drops viewers in on a huddled tactical meeting where everyone finishes each other's sentences around a single desk. But even in its purely procedural moments, "Marshals" fires on all cylinders, sending the team on explosive missions that guarantee your Sunday nights will end with a bang. (And maybe another bang, depending on how things pan out at the team's weekly visit to their post-mission watering hole.)
No previous "Yellowstone" knowledge is required to follow "Marshals," as all the key points of Kayce's history are recapped in dialogue, but viewers who speak fluent Dutton will appreciate the many references to characters and events (and even a few unsolved mysteries) from the original series. And the show definitely benefits from having an established history; the weight of Kayce's conversations with Broken Rock chairman Thomas Rainwater (returning cast member Gil Birmingham) feel especially grounded and real, even if you didn't see their relationship develop on "Yellowstone."
As for fresh faces, Kayce's new team is led by his old SEAL buddy Cal (Logan Marshall-Green, "Big Sky"), who recruits the downtrodden Dutton like an evangelist peddling salvation to a wayward soul. Rounding out the team is Ash Santos ("Pulse") as Andrea, who took up the cause to get vengeance for her fallen father, and Tatanka Means ("Ransom Canyon") as Miles, the greenest member of the group who also questions whether being a Marshal means turning against his own people. Fresh off heroic runs on "9-1-1" and "Rescue: HI-Surf," Arielle Kebbel also feels right at home as Belle, a fearless undercover specialist with a family name that comes with its own Dutton-sized baggage.
"Piya Wiconi" (aka "new beginning") isn't just the title of the series premiere, it's the entire theme of "Marshals." While the focus is put on Kayce's demons — including his desire to be a good father to teenage Tate (Brecken Merrill), while avoiding the same parenting pitfalls he endured with his own father — every member of the team is running from something (or someone), and they're willing to walk through hell to get to the other side. As Cal muses in the first episode, "It may look like God's country, but there's devils running free out here."
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: A visual treat with genuine heart, "Marshals" is enough of a crime procedural to appeal to viewers who enjoy a complete story told in 60 minutes, while also remaining prestigious enough to satisfy "Yellowstone" fans who might not typically watch a show like, say, "S.W.A.T." or "NCIS."