“Yellowstone” fans, get ready for your newest obsession with the Kayce Dutton spinoff, “Marshals.” The sequel series follows the youngest Dutton as he navigates his own path after selling the ranch, and for its CBS debut on March 1, 9.52 million viewers tuned in, which makes it the most-watched new scripted series premiere without a football lead-in since 2018 (source: Nielsen, Live+SD Panel + Big Data).
To recap “Yellowstone” lore and the series ending (spoilers ahead, but as the show ended two years ago, if you still haven’t seen it, that’s on you): Dutton, played by Luke Grimes, is a former Navy SEAL who has long struggled between loyalty to his family and the burden of the ranch legacy. In the series finale, Dutton sold the Yellowstone ranch back to Broken Rock Reservation under the terms that the land would never be resold or developed, and that his small family — wife Monica (played by Kelsey Asbille) and son Tate (played by Brecken Merrill) — would be allowed to live on a small piece of the property called East Camp.
In the new series, Dutton teams up with the U.S. Marshals to protect his home and Montana against violence, and in the process, he learns where he fits in, who he can rely on — and who relies on him.
‘New purpose’
Military Families Magazine sat down with Grimes to learn how it feels stepping back into the Dutton boots, what fans can anticipate, and his perspective on the SOF (special operations forces) community.
“It’s kind of a dream character, right? It’s a cowboy, Navy SEAL,” Grimes described of his Dutton role. “When I was a young guy wanting to be an actor… these are the kinds of things you want to play, sort of all rolled into one.”
“[T]his whole new show is about him finding a new purpose. Obviously, a lot of [Dutton’s character] arc of ‘Yellowstone’ was him sort of not knowing … his purpose within his community, and [asking] ‘what am I supposed to do?’” Grimes said. “In this new series, he makes a decision to use that skill set for good, and to try to help the people in his community, and find a new purpose in life.”
On playing a former Navy SEAL, Grimes talks about his admiration of veterans, saying that the role is “big shoes to fill.”
“There’s no way that I would have cut it as a Navy SEAL in real life. I know that those guys are much tougher mentally… physically, spiritually, emotionally than I am,” he said.
Grimes went on to say that on hard days, he remembers that “this is nothing compared to what these guys have actually gone through… there’s a lot of respect there.”
“Through playing Kayce, I’ve met a lot of guys who are real SEALs or Rangers or Green Berets, a lot of different kinds of special operators,” Grimes said, adding that it is an honor to play a “military badass” on the show.
“I have the utmost respect for the guys who actually went through it, and for their service.”
New faces
While “Yellowstone” fans will see a few familiar faces, such as Merrill, Gil Birmingham and Mo Brings Plenty, the spinoff’s new cast is strong: Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel, Tatanka Means, Ash Santos and even country music star Riley Green in his acting debut. Of Green’s guest-starring role, CBS said “he plays a former Navy SEAL with a mysterious, troubled past who seeks help from Kayce Dutton.”
Passion and profession combined
Actress Kebbel is a fixture in the spinoff as Belle Skinner, a former ATF agent now U.S. Marshal who isn’t afraid to jump into action — even while riding a horse. Fortunately, Kebbel is an accomplished horsewoman who began riding at age five. A fierce animal advocate (Kebbel is a board member for Skydog Sanctuary and has a rescue horse named Snow White), “Marshals” allows her real-life passion for horses to collide with her acting profession. Kebbel spoke with Military Families Magazine about reading the script prior to landing the role.
“I remember my heart was pounding reading it, and I actually had to go back and reread it to make sure it was actually my character [in a chase on horseback],” she explained, saying she couldn’t believe she would get to do such stunts that align with her own background and athleticism.
After the first week of filming, she said, “I could not stop smiling. I went home that night —I was beaming— and I just thought like, ‘wow, who knew this character would bring this to my life?’”
Kebbel takes her role seriously when it comes to the show representing the veteran perspective, particularly with PTSD. She spoke of listening to veterans’ stories about their experiences, including equine therapy and “the power of healing with horses.”
“Those stories are so meaningful for me, and I keep them in the back of my head [since] a big piece of our show is tied to vets and PTSD,” she said of episodes that explore PTSD and “deep healing.”
“It was just another level of honoring the real people out there that go out and do this every day.”
Watch “Marshals” on Sunday nights (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS, or stream on Paramount+.
