Obviously, the Dutton family tree is relevant to Marshals, seeing as it’s the first spinoff we’ve gotten that’s a direct continuation of Yellowstone. However, what I wasn’t expecting was how often it, and specifically John Dutton, would come up in this spinoff all about his youngest son, Kayce. To be frank, I think it’s kind of wild how relevant Kevin Costner’s character was to the CBS show’s premiere on the 2026 TV schedule.
Now, I get that Marshals needed to incorporate Yellowstone lore into its premiere (which you can stream with a Paramount+ subscription). Fans needed to be clued into Kayce’s family, their ranch, and the fact that he sold it to Broken Rock in the series finale of Yellowstone. So, I expected at least one line of dialogue, like the one Belle had fairly early in the episode:
His dad was the governor who was killed. Brother Jamie’s the attorney general who went missing. Does any of this ring a bell?
To me, yes, it does ring a bell. And I do think it’s important for viewers to know that after Kevin Costner left Yellowstone, John was killed off. Then, in the series finale, his son, Jamie, was killed.
However, bringing up John and the Dutton legacy multiple times throughout the episode was kind of wild. We heard about Kayce’s family early when his history with Pete Calvin was brought up, and then John specifically came up another time when Kayce and Tate were talking about what his son wanted to do with their land when he grew up.
Now, I had guessed that while Marshals would be connected to Yellowstone, it would make a pretty distinct effort to distance itself. This show is on a new network, it only features a few returning cast members, and Kayce’s wife, Monica, died off-screen. With Luke Grimes’ character taking on a new job, I thought the show would hold its predecessor at arm’s length. However, it turns out that it’s fully embracing it.
I think this presents an interesting debate for Marshals. That’s because the show is set up to work like a procedural, where each episode follows a different case. Meanwhile, it’s direct, obvious, and numerous mentions of Yellowstone and Kayce’s dad show that clearly this story is a continuation of what came before. Can it be both things at once? I guess time will tell.
Critics have said that Marshals is trying to find its own voice in this universe, while others asked how it can “maintain the integrity of Taylor Sheridan’s very specific world while also checking off all the boxes necessary for a network TV procedural?” These are things I’ve been thinking about too.
Ultimately, I’ve come to the conclusion that while I want Marshals to not ignore its ties to Yellowstone, I also don’t want John and the family history to come up multiple times in every episode.
I’d rather explore pockets of Kayce’s history that we’ve never seen before, like his time in the military. And I desperately want us to watch Kayce find a new purpose in the present. He’s been haunted by his family’s past for forever, and this show gives him an opportunity to break out of that cycle, change lanes and go in a new direction. However, if they keep bringing up his dad, I fear this lane actually won’t be new.
Well, now I’m very curious to see how Marshals continues. On the one hand, it’s fascinating to see how the choices the Duttons made on Yellowstone impact this new show. However, on the other hand, I’m looking forward to seeing a fresh and new take on this world that could stand on its own. So, you bet I’ll be keeping tally of the John Dutton mentions as this show continues to air every Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m.
