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When Yellowstone ended, some were happy to see the Kevin Costner-less neo-Western ride off into the sunset, but many others were anxious to find out how the rest of the cast would fare after selling the Dutton Ranch. So when it was announced that Luke Grimes‘ Kayce Dutton would be migrating to CBS to continue his story as a newly-appointed member of a U.S. Marshal task force, well, that’s when many of us began to get excited again. Although the project was originally announced under the working title of Y: Marshals, only two months ahead of its premiere, the network has purposely dropped the “Y,” renaming the show simply Marshals. But don’t let the rebranding fool you. This may actually be for the best.

Rebranding ‘Marshals’ Opens the Door Wider for General Audiences Beyond ‘Yellowstone’

Image via Paramount

While the show will always be connected to the flagship Dutton drama, the truth is that renaming the show Marshals will make the spin-off more accessible for audiences tuning into the Yellowstone Universe for the very first time. Not everyone has the ability to go back and binge five seasons on Peacock and another two prequel shows on Paramount+ for context before tuning into the new neo-Western crime drama on CBS this spring. For those who grew disillusioned with the Costner-led series and got sick of its overly soapy nature, perhaps this soft rebrand will further encourage some on-the-fence viewers that this series might be closer to the likes of Longmire, Justified, or even Walker rather than one of Taylor Sheridan‘s other made-for-streaming dramas. Kayce’s story always felt like the odd one out compared to the rest of his family and the Yellowstone cast, so it stands to reason that his spin-off would be too.

Perhaps the biggest recurring issue on Yellowstone regarding Kayce’s character arc was that there wasn’t really much of one to begin with. Kayce drifted aimlessly from season to season, torn between his wavering allegiance to his father and the family he created with Monica (Kelsey Asbille, who appears to be absent from Marshals altogether). For much of the show’s middling years, Kayce’s story is treated as nothing more than an aside that occasionally drifts back into the main plot whenever the show suddenly needs his expertise again (like when his son is kidnapped at the end of Season 2). By the end of Yellowstone, when Kayce takes it upon himself to solve his father’s murder, it seemed as if Sheridan had finally figured out what to do with the character, like this was the type of material he should’ve been working with all along. It’s no wonder he, David C. Glasser, and Spencer Hudnut came up with the Marshals sequel series so quickly.

Additionally, while the series is being officially retitled, the trademark Yellowstone “Y” will still be included in most of the show’s branding. Almost like a haunting specter that looms over Kayce, the brand that he bears on his chest will follow his series into the character’s next chapter. In some sense, Kayce will never be fully able to escape Yellowstone, and the same is true of Marshals and Sheridan’s flagship series. Nevertheless, the CBS rebrand proves that the network is at least trying to put some tracks between Yellowstone and Marshals, and that’s no doubt a good thing.

‘Marshals’ Signals a Move Away From Its ‘Yellowstone’ Roots

Indeed, the Marshals rebrand may signal a further distancing from Sheridan’s original neo-Western in an effort to broaden the CBS drama’s horizons without being limited to the material that exists elsewhere within the larger franchise. While there will always be a continuity between Kayce’s story on Yellowstone and his time on Marshals, that doesn’t mean that the tone, themes, or general attitude of the original series will have to carry over. This rebrand also goes along well with the notion that Sheridan is already taking a backseat with this spin-off compared to some of his other Yellowstone offshoots, with Spencer Hudnut, the former showrunner of SEAL Team, taking the reins to reinvent what the modern neo-Western might entail. With someone like Hudnut at the helm, the chances of exploring Kayce’s tortured past with the SEALs are pretty dang high, and that might give this modern-day lawman an edge in the same way that traditional Western heroes were often tormented by the American Civil War.

With Sheridan leaving Paramount behind sooner rather than later, passing the reins of this first post-Yellowstone sequel series off to capable hands is a good start that will prepare audiences for his eventual departure. Marshals doesn’t need the same writing style that Yellowstone had, and it may just benefit from a room full of writers who can put their own spin on the neo-Western drama. If this series can learn anything from both Hudnut’s previous program and similar shows that have come before, it may just be the type of neo-Western we’ve been craving since Longmire went off the air. In short, this rebrand from Y: Marshals to simply Marshals is good news. At the very least, we can be encouraged that Marshals is hoping to ride on its own success rather than simply retreading the path that Yellowstone has walked before.