Marshals: Everything To Remember About Yellowstone Before Watching Kayce's CBS Spin-Off

The next chapter in Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" saga begins on Sunday, March 1 (CBS, 8/7c) with the series premiere of "Marshals," a crime procedural following Kayce Dutton's (Luke Grimes) new life as a member of the U.S. Marshals. No prior "Yellowstone" knowledge is required to enjoy "Marshals," as Kayce's history is recapped well enough in dialogue, but it couldn't hurt to refresh your memory about where things left off for the Dutton family back in 2024.

Only a few familiar faces from "Yellowstone" are returning for "Marshals." In addition to Grimes, we'll also reunite with Brecken Merrill as Kayce's teenage son Tate, Gil Birmingham as Broken Rock chairman Thomas Rainwater, and Mo Brings Plenty as Rainwater's right-hand man Mo. 

The rest of the show's principal cast, aka Kayce's fellow U.S. Marshals, is composed of fresh faces: Arielle Kebbel as Belle, Ash Santos as Andrea, Tatanka Means as Miles, and Logan Marshall-Green as Cal.

Read on for a refresher on where Kayce and the rest of the Duttons ended up after "Yellowstone," and what they're up to during "Marshals":

John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner), the mighty patriarch of the Dutton family, met his untimely end midway through the final season of "Yellowstone." Though it was originally believed that John died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, it was eventually discovered — largely thanks to Kayce — that John was a victim of foul play.

Like with most things on "Yellowstone," the real story was far more disturbing: the assassination plot was orchestrated by John's lover Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) with a major assist from — wait for it — John's son Jamie (Wes Bentley). As soon as her involvement was exposed, Sarah was gunned down by a hired hitman, before she had a chance to land behind bars for her crime.

Like all siblings, Jamie (Wes Bentley) and his sister Beth (Kelly Reilly) had their fair share of dust-ups during the five-season run of "Yellowstone." But because these are the Duttons we're talking about, "dust-ups" involved everything from extreme physical violence to casual murder threats. Jamie and Beth's fiery dynamic left viewers wondering how just far they could push their sibling rivalry without taking things too far — and the series finale gave us the answer we'd been waiting for.

After publicly denying any connection to Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), thereby denying his own involvement in John's (Kevin Costner) death, Jamie returned home to discover Beth waiting for him. What ensued was a six-minute brawl involving a crowbar, bear spray, and so much blood. Beth's husband Rip (Cole Hauser) eventually joined the fray, holding Jamie back while Beth stabbed him in the chest with a knife. Rip disposed of Jamie's body in Wyoming.

Because of the secretive nature of Jamie's death, the authorities don't yet know that he's been murdered. He's currently considered a missing person.

Kayce faces a number of internal struggles on "Marshals," including whether he can truly serve as a federal agent while also doing right by the people of the Broken Rock Reservation. So, how did this cowboy develop such strong ties to the Indigenous group? It began when he married a Native American woman named Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and it grew when the couple welcomed their son Tate (Brecken Merrill). Despite living with his wife and son on the reservation, Kayce was still considered an outsider by many members of the community for most of "Yellowstone."

By the end of the series, however, Kayce developed an especially meaningful bond with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), who currently serves as the chairman of Broken Rock. Not only did Kayce and Rainwater become blood brothers in the finale, but Kayce also sold the majority of his family's land to Broken Rock, with Rainwater promising that it would be protected rather than developed.

"The sense for Rainwater is that Kayce always wants to do the best [that he can]," Birmingham told TVLine in November 2024. "He wants to be the best person he can be, and he's inspired by his wife in that way. But he's also exposed more to the culture and the value system of what indigenous people are more so than John [ever was]."

At the end of "Yellowstone," Kayce was living with Monica and Tate in the smaller East Camp section of the Dutton's land.

We'll start with the bad news: Despite being among the few Duttons still alive after the "Yellowstone" series finale, neither Beth (Kelly Reilly) nor Rip (Cole Hauser) are seen on "Marshals," at least not in the first few episodes made available to the press.

But can you really blame them for wanting a fresh start? As we discussed earlier, Beth spent the show's final hour murdering her brother Jamie (Wes Bentley), whose body Rip dumped somewhere in Wyoming. While still recovering from her showdown with Jamie, Beth revealed that she purchased a new ranch in Dillon, Montana, one where she and Rip could live with their "son" Carter (Finn Little).

The good news, of course, is that Beth and Rip's new home is only a few hours from their former residence, so they aren't totally out of Kayce's (Luke Grimes) life, even if we don't always see them. And the better news is that "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan is currently developing another spin-off specifically focused on Beth and Rip. The couple's next chapter is tentatively titled "The Dutton Ranch."

Which "Yellowstone" loose ends are you hoping "Marshals" will tie up? Drop a comment with your thoughts on the CBS spin-off below.