{"id":12714,"date":"2026-08-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/?p=12714"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:21:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:21:39","slug":"leaving-yellowstone-proves-harder-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/leaving-yellowstone-proves-harder-than-expected\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaving Yellowstone Proves Harder Than Expected"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>7 Minute, 9 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

TV SERIES REVIEWS
\nMarshals: Season One
\nTV-14 –    <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre: <\/strong>Drama, Crime, Action & Adventure, Western
\nYear Released: <\/strong>2026
\nRuntime: <\/strong>9h 19m
\nDirector(s): <\/strong>Greg Yaitanes, Christopher Chulack, Guy Ferland, Gonzalo Amat, John Erick Dowdle, Darren Grant, Ruben Garcia
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Spencer Hudnut, Jim Adler, Dana Greenblatt, Tom Mularz, Mark Semos, Maggie Schroeder, Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.; based on characters created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson
\nCast: <\/strong>Luke Grimes, Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, Brecken Merrill, Mo Brings Plenty, Gil Birmingham, Morgan Lindholm, Brett Cullen, Michael Cudlitz
\nWhere to Watch: <\/strong>available August 25, 2026, pre-order your copy here: www.moviesunlimited.com<\/a> or www.amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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RAVING REVIEW: <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Kayce Dutton has always felt more natural when he has a purpose, rather than when he’s tasked with carrying on his family legacy. MARSHALS recognizes that, removing the Yellowstone Ranch from his life and giving Luke Grimes a character who can move forward without being pulled back into the same Dutton family conflicts every episode. The problem is that the new job waiting for Kayce feels much more like a traditional crime drama and is far removed from the world we first met him in.<\/p>\n

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That tradeoff defines the first season. MARSHALS is an accessible, well-made action procedural with enough YELLOWSTONE DNA to prevent it from feeling completely detached from what came before. It’s also far more conventional than the series that saw Kayce become the character so many people demanded more of, regularly sending its team after fugitives, traffickers, militias and assorted criminals before wrapping those threats inside stories about duty, trauma and loyalty.<\/p>\n

Luke Grimes handles the transition better than the show around him. Kayce was never really the most outspoken Dutton, and Grimes never needed to portray that. He brings the same restrained weariness into MARSHALS, allowing years of military service, family violence and personal loss to remain present without constantly forcing them into the main storyline. Kayce becoming a U.S. Marshal also makes enough sense that the setup doesn’t feel like someone pulled a character out of YELLOWSTONE and forced him into an unrelated spinoff.<\/p>\n

His connection to Broken Rock helps. Gil Birmingham and Mo Brings Plenty (I hate that name) maintain continuity with a part of YELLOWSTONE that was so important, even beyond the ranch itself. At the same time, Brecken Merrill’s Tate prevents Kayce’s life from becoming nothing but another uniform and another mission. Those relationships give the show something to return to when the weekly cases start becoming interchangeable.<\/p>\n

There’s also a built-in contradiction to Kayce’s new position. He has spent much of his adult life distrusting institutions, enduring violence and navigating divided loyalties. Putting a badge on doesn’t erase any of that. The better episodes understand that Kayce isn’t suddenly a simple, pure lawman just because he works for the federal government. His instinct to act first when someone he cares about is threatened remains at the heart of his character until it clashes with the rules he must follow.<\/p>\n

Season One repeatedly falls back on Kayce's capability whenever the situation demands it. His Navy SEAL background, experience working on the ranch, and familiarity with Montana make him an obvious asset, though the writing sometimes relies on them as shortcuts. Kayce can enter a situation, understand it faster than everyone around him, and take control because viewers already know what he’s made of. That’s satisfying in smaller doses. Over thirteen episodes, it can make the surrounding team feel as though they’re the B squad, just there to fill up the screen.<\/p>\n

Logan Marshall-Green has the increasingly difficult job of standing beside him without becoming another version of Kayce. As Pete Calvin, an old SEAL teammate who helps bring Kayce into the Marshals, he provides a background and history that doesn’t require lengthy explanation. Their relationship carries the camaraderie of two people who have been through situations they’d rather not revisit, and the season gradually uses that past to create friction instead of treating military brotherhood as an automatic positive, all the time.<\/p>\n

The rest of the unit takes longer to distinguish itself. Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, and Tatanka Means each have opportunities to move beyond their generic roles, with Miles Kittle becoming particularly useful whenever tasks overlap with Broken Rock and the surrounding community. The ensemble is likable enough to keep the investigations moving, though several characters remain defined more clearly by function than personality. The procedural side of MARSHALS isn’t distinctive enough to carry everything by itself. Bombings, standoffs, missing people, motorcycle gangs, escaped prisoners, and armed compounds provide plenty of action, and the show is rarely short on gunfire or chases. Some episodes are stronger when the assignment forces the characters into a confined dilemma rather than another escalating conspiracy. “On Thin Ice,” which strands Kayce and Pete in dangerous conditions with a fugitive, works because survival and unresolved history take precedence over adding another pile of armed villains.<\/p>\n

The Montana setting should provide more separation. Landscapes, reservations, ranching communities and isolated stretches of territory give the Marshals problems that wouldn’t feel the same in a different part of the country. The show uses that effectively during chases and confrontations, though the environment doesn’t carry the weight it once did on YELLOWSTONE. There, land was practically another character because almost every conflict eventually came back to who owned it, who wanted it, and what people were willing to do to keep it. MARSHALS uses Montana more as territory to patrol.<\/p>\n

Spencer Hudnut’s background with military TV becomes apparent in the emphasis on teamwork, tactical decisions and the psychological residue carried home from jobs. Kayce fits naturally into that world. At times, however, dialogue about service and brotherhood becomes more explicit than the performances need. Season One improves when its longer arcs begin to tighten around Broken Rock, Kayce’s loyalties, and threats connected to the larger Montana community. Michael Cudlitz brings some welcome hostility as Randall Clegg, and the final stretch gives the season a stronger sense that individual cases have been leading somewhere. The finale raises the stakes without abandoning the procedural identity established during the previous twelve episodes.<\/p>\n

That leaves MARSHALS in an unusual position. It doesn’t need to be another version of YELLOWSTONE or THE DUTTONS, and trying to copy that show would probably have been the bigger mistake. Kayce deserves a deeper story after years of Dutton turmoil, and Luke Grimes gives the character enough reason to exist to make this next chapter believable. The new format just hasn’t found an equally strong reason to exist beyond him.<\/p>\n

There’s a more than dependable crime series taking shape here, complete with a strong lead, an appealing ensemble, and enough action to carry it through thirteen episodes without becoming difficult to watch. What’s missing is the element that makes MARSHALS stand out once the Dutton name is removed. Season One successfully carries Kayce into the next stage in his life. The show following him there has more work to do. I think that season two will take the series in a direction that continues to let it stand on its own feet.<\/p>\n

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[photo courtesy of MTV, MOVIES UNLIMITED, ALLIANCE HOME ENTERTAINMENT]<\/em><\/p>\n

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TV SERIES REVIEWS Marshals: Season One TV-14 –      Genre: Drama, Crime, Action & Adventure, Western Year Released: 2026 Runtime: 9h 19m Director(s): Greg Yaitanes, Christopher Chulack, Guy Ferland, Gonzalo Amat, John Erick Dowdle, Darren Grant, Ruben Garcia Writer(s): Spencer Hudnut, Jim Adler, Dana Greenblatt, Tom Mularz, Mark Semos, Maggie Schroeder, Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.; based […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/img\/0367\/0367579.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t