‘Y: Marshals’: ‘Yellowstone’s Next Spinoff Should Worry Taylor Sheridan Fans
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Before detailing the two crucial changes that should worry fans, it’s worth reminding folks that Sheridan’s contract with Paramount will expire in 2028 and that he has signed a lucrative new deal to bring his talents to Universal. The studio switch almost certainly played a factor in the overhauled approach to Y: Marshals, which includes a new writing staff and transition to broad network television. Translation: Y: Marshals will look, feel, and sound much different than Yellowstone.
What is ‘Y: Marshals’ About?
Created by Taylor Sheridan as one of many Yellowstone spin-offs, Y: Marshals is also a sequel to the hit neo-western melodrama that ran from 2018 to 2024 on Paramount+. Picking up after the events of Yellowstone‘s finale, Y: Marshals follows Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) as he adjusts to life in Montana with his son, Tate Dutton (Brecken Merill), following the tragic demise of patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and Kayce’s brother, Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley).
Rather than being a melodramatic western TV series, Y: Marshals will adhere more to the style of a law enforcement procedural, one of many significant changes that potentially threaten to bastardize Yellowstone‘s compelling formula. Changes also include new cast members, who will join recurring Yellowstone actors Gil Birmingham as Thomas Rainwater and Mo Brings Plenty as Mo.
Y: Marshals Loses Taylor Sheridan as Writer & Changes Networks
Apart from the new cast members and procedural formula, the most significant changes facing Y: Marshals relative to Yellowstone include switching writers and TV channels. As Sheridan’s contract with Paramount expires in 2028, and with the countless projects he has left to complete for the network before then, the prolific writer is pulled in too many directions to handle writing duties on Y: Marshal. Between the hit series Landman, Tulsa King, Lioness, Mayor of Kingstown, The Madison, The Dutton Ranch, 6666, and 1944, Sheridan is just too busy to write Y: Marshal episodes.
This is a devastating loss that can’t be overstated. Sheridan has been the most prolific TV writer since 2018, and one of the major reasons why Yellowstone was so successful on Paramount+. Stripping Y: Marshals of the franchise’s authorial voice and watering down the material on a broad TV network is a surefire way to alienate the fanbase and lose viewers as a result. Although he will remain attached and guide the new narrative, Yellowstone fans need to prepare for Y: Marshals to look and sound much different than Sheridan’s flagship brand.
More concerning yet, with the showrunner and writers shake-up, Y: Marshals is also migrating from Paramount+’s streaming network and will air weekly episodes on CBS. Transitioning from a paid streamer catering to a niche audience to a broad TV network means the show will be far more sanitized and homogenized than Yellowstone. The profane language, the brutal violence, graphic carnage, and the more nuanced, mature storytelling will be substituted with a more generic TV show to appeal to the widest audience possible.
Who Else Stars in ‘Y: Marshals’?
In addition to the new network and writers, Y: Marshals will introduce new characters to the Yellowstone franchise. The biggest draw so far is Logan Marshall-Green (Upgrade, The Invitation), who is set to play a key character named Pete Calvin. Pete is a close friend of Kayce from their time in the military, and one of the only people who can relate to and understand the shell-shocking psychological impact of war. Pete and Kayce will help each other reacclimate to civilian life after serving as Navy SEALs together overseas.
Elsewhere, Brett Cullen (Winning Time, Ransom Canyon) has been cast to play Harry Gifford in Y: Marshals. Gifford is the head of the U.S. Marshals unit in Montana and will serve as Kayce’s direct superior. Joining Kayce and Gifford as U.S. Marshals in Montana are Arielle Kebbel (Rescue: HI surf) as Belle, Ash Santos (Mayor of Kingstown) as Andrea, and Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon) as Miles.
Y: Marshals‘ background supporting cast also includes Gregory Zaragoza (who played Red Bear in Yellowstone), Pamela Beheshti (Bundy Manor), John Forker (The Graduates), Josh Piper (The Mentalist), and newcomer Madison Best.