Review: The Dust Settles: Is CBS’s 'Marshals' a Worthy Successor or Just Yellowstone Lite?

The Dutton era as we knew it is officially over, and frankly, the sting of seeing that iconic ranch slip through the family’s fingers still feels like a gut punch. For those of us who lived and breathed the Yellowstone prequels, obsessing over every grit-toothed standoff in 1883 and 1923, the finale of the flagship series was a hard pill to swallow. But Taylor Sheridan never lets a good cowpoke rest. Enter Marshals, the new CBS procedural that picks up the pieces of the Dutton legacy and hands them to the one man who always looked like he’d rather be anywhere else: Kayce Dutton.

Here at The TV Cave, we managed to snag an early screening of the first few episodes, and the vibe is… complicated.

Kayce Dutton: Montana’s New Badge

Luke Grimes is back at the forefront and let’s be honest, he looks great in the hat. In Marshals, Kayce has traded the burdens of the ranch for the badge of a U.S. Marshal and he’s clearly ready to deliver some high-octane Montana justice. If you’re here for the scenery and the tactical Navy SEAL-meets-cowboy shootouts, you’re going to be a happy camper. The show leans heavily into the "case-of-the-week" format, making it a perfect fit for the Sunday night CBS crowd.

The Scripted Path of Least Resistance

While the action is tight, the character development feels like it was pulled from a "Procedural Tropes 101" handbook. As much as we love Kayce, he needs a foil that doesn't feel like a cardboard cutout. The dynamics in the office are so predictable you could set your watch by them.

First, there’s Belle Skinner. She’s talented, she’s tough, and, stop us if you’ve heard this one before, the sexual tension between her and Kayce is being telegraphed from space. Then we have Andrea, who seems to exist solely to remind us that the Dutton legacy means nothing to the modern world. She "doesn’t get it," which is TV-speak for being the resident wet blanket. Toss in Harry Gifford, the boss who "can’t stand" Kayce’s unconventional methods and you have a recipe for a show we’ve already seen a dozen times. It’s the same "rogue hero vs. the system" trope, just with better Stetson hats.

A Procedural in Dutton’s Clothing

The biggest hurdle for Marshals is its own predictability. For a franchise that built its reputation on shocking betrayals and Shakespearean family drama, this spinoff feels surprisingly safe. We want to see Kayce challenged in ways that aren’t just "can he shoot the bad guy?" We want the grit of the prequels, but instead, we’re getting a standard-issue crime drama that just happens to have "Yellowstone" DNA.

If you’re looking for a comfortable, Western-tinged crime show to fold laundry to, Marshals is your new best friend. It’s polished, it’s professional and Kayce is as brooding as ever. But for those of us hoping for the next evolution of the Dutton saga, we’re still waiting for something truly new and exciting to hit the trail.

Does Marshals live up to the Yellowstone name, or is it just a placeholder until the next prequel drops? Head over to the comments and let us know if you think Kayce belongs in a badge or if he should have stayed on the ranch.

Are you planning to tune in for the March 1st premiere, or are you still mourning the loss of the ranch?