Luke Grimes almost walked away from the chance to lead his own Yellowstone spin-off. The actor, who played Kayce Dutton for five seasons, initially turned down the idea of returning to the character because he felt the rancher’s journey had already reached a natural and satisfying conclusion.
When the flagship series ended its run in December 2024, Grimes believed he had closed the chapter on the stoic Navy SEAL-turned-rancher. Kayce rode off into the sunset, having secured a peaceful life on his own terms with his wife Monica and son Tate. For Grimes, that felt like the perfect ending.
“I was very reluctant at first,” Grimes admitted to Entertainment Weekly. “His story ended so perfectly on the mothership. I don’t know if we should go back into it.”
Why Luke Grimes Initially Rejected the Spin-Off Offer
The 41-year-old actor had genuine concerns when producers first approached him about headlining a new series. After spending years bringing Kayce to life, he worried that revisiting the character might undo the beautiful ending they had carefully crafted across 53 episodes.
“I thought, ‘This is it,’” Grimes recalled in an interview with the Associated Press. “He kind of got what he always wanted, which is just a simple life with his family on his piece of land.”
Grimes also admitted he was surprised that Kayce was even being considered for a spin-off. The Yellowstone universe features larger-than-life characters like Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, played by Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, who many fans assumed would be first in line for their own shows.
“If you take a poll of who people want to have a spin-off, I don’t know if Kayce would be top of that list,” Grimes confessed to The Hollywood Reporter. “I think there’s other characters that they would rather see.”
That awareness put pressure on the actor and the creative team. “So there was a fire under me, like, it has to be good. If it’s not good, I’d rather not do it,” he explained during a panel at the 2025 Television Critics Association winter press tour.
What Finally Made Luke Grimes Change His Mind
Despite his initial reluctance, Grimes eventually came around to the idea. The key factor was realizing that the new show, now titled Marshals, wasn’t simply trying to cash in on the Yellowstone name. There was an actual story worth telling about Kayce’s past that remained unexplored.
“I realized we’re not just trying to juice a stone and get a paycheck, there really is a story to tell,” Grimes said during a visit to CBS Mornings. “This guy used to be a Navy SEAL, and we never really explored that in the original series.”
The original series only scratched the surface of Kayce’s military background. He was introduced as a former special operator, but the show focused more on his role within the Dutton family and the conflicts with land developers, rival ranchers, and the Broken Rock Reservation. Marshals finally allows the creative team to dive deep into that part of his identity.
“We barely scratched the surface of that,” Grimes noted in an interview with Variety. “In a way, it was kind of a blessing because we have all that stuff to explore now without it feeling like we just made some stuff up.”
The new series takes Kayce in a completely different direction. He leaves the ranch behind to join an elite unit of U.S. Marshals in Montana, blending his cowboy upbringing with his special forces training. The show is described as an action-heavy procedural that still maintains the soul of the Yellowstone universe.
“There was a bit of action here and there in Yellowstone, but this is an action show,” Grimes told EW. “We’re doing stuff I never got to do before.”
‘Marshals’ Picks Up One Year After the Yellowstone Finale
The spin-off begins about a year after the events of the Yellowstone series finale. Kayce and his sister Beth sold most of the family’s land to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), though Kayce held onto the East Camp where he lives with Monica and Tate.
According to showrunner Spencer Hudnut, Kayce is a “changed man” at the start of the series. “The downtime that he’s had between the end of that show and the start of ours has forced him to confront some of his demons and really focus on being a father,” Hudnut explained to TVLine.
The opportunity to become a U.S. Marshal comes through Pete “Cal” Calvin, played by Logan Marshall-Green, Kayce’s former leader from his SEAL team days. Cal recognizes that his old friend needs purpose and recruits him to join the four-person team operating out of Helena.
“I know you got your own demons to conquer,” Cal tells Kayce in the official trailer released on February 10, “but jumping back into the fire is gonna do you well.”
Grimes sees this as Kayce’s attempt to rebuild his life after losing the dream he had for his family. “Whatever dream that he had is over now, he’s never getting it back,” the actor said during a press conference. “Clearly he’s making an effort to do something different here and change his life and change his son’s life at the same time.”
Familiar Yellowstone Cast Members Returning
Yellowstone fans will recognize several familiar faces in Marshals. Brecken Merrill returns as Tate Dutton, Kayce’s teenage son. The father-son dynamic plays a significant role in the new series as Kayce works to become a better parent while dealing with the demands of his dangerous job.
Gil Birmingham reprises his role as Thomas Rainwater, the chairman of the Broken Rock Reservation. His character serves as something of a mentor figure to Kayce following the death of John Dutton. “Watching Kayce and Rainwater’s relationship evolve is a really nice storyline for us because they became so close by the end of Yellowstone,” Hudnut shared with Entertainment Weekly.
Mo Brings Plenty also returns as Mo, Rainwater’s loyal right-hand man and spiritual guide.
However, Kelsey Asbille, who played Monica Dutton throughout the series, will not be a series regular in Marshals. Sources confirm she may appear in guest episodes, but her character’s reduced presence is explained in the premiere episode as Monica takes a teaching position on a different reservation.
The new series introduces several fresh faces to the Yellowstone universe. Arielle Kebbel (9-1-1) plays Maya, a sharp-witted marshal with a complicated past. Ash Santos (Mayor of Kingstown) portrays Samira, the team’s tech specialist. Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon) joins as Charlie, a veteran marshal with deep ties to the Indigenous community.
Brett Cullen (Winning Time) appears as Harry Gifford, the head of the U.S. Marshals office in Montana who initially has reservations about hiring a Dutton. “Marshals uphold the law,” Gifford warns in the trailer. “Duttons bend it.”
Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead) joins the cast as Randall Clegg, the patriarch of a local ranching family who harbors resentment toward the Duttons and serves as the primary antagonist in the first season.
Release Date and Streaming Details
Marshals premieres on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. New episodes will air weekly on Sundays.
For streaming viewers, the series will be available on Paramount+:
- Premium subscribers (with Showtime) can watch episodes live or on-demand starting March 1
- Essential plan subscribers can stream new episodes the day after they air, beginning March 2
International audiences can catch the show on Paramount+ in Canada, Australia, the UK, and Latin America starting March 2. In India, the series will stream on JioHotstar from March 2.
The show has received a 13-episode order from CBS, giving the creative team room to develop storylines and explore Kayce’s new life as a federal lawman.
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What the New Series Looks Like
Hudnut describes Marshals as a “non-traditional procedural,” meaning it won’t follow a simple case-of-the-week format. Instead, the series focuses heavily on character development while delivering action-packed stories each episode.
The threats Kayce and his team face range from local gangs and drug cartels to violent criminal networks operating across the Montana region. The show also plans to address issues affecting Indigenous communities, with storylines involving mining companies, missing persons cases, and other challenges facing reservation lands.
The action sequences represent a significant upgrade from the parent series. Stunt coordinator Wade Allen (John Wick: Chapter 4) designed elaborate set pieces that showcase Kayce’s military training. Early reviews from critics who screened the first four episodes praise the tactical sequences and gunfights.
Grimes promises the series delivers on action while staying true to what made Yellowstone special. “We tried really hard to make sure that any of the original Yellowstone fans would have something to grasp onto,” he told TV Guide. “But if you’d never seen Yellowstone, we wanted this show to make sense on its own as well. I think we accomplished that as much as we possibly could.”
For Grimes, stepping into the lead role on a network series marks a significant milestone in his career. The actor, who got his start over two decades ago in films like All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and Taken 2, now finds himself as the number one on the call sheet for a major production.
“I’ve been working professionally as an actor since I was 20 and I’m 42 now, so it’s been 22 years,” Grimes reflected. “I’ve had plenty of time to think about if I ever do get the opportunity to be number one on the call sheet of something that’s a big investment for some company, then I’ll know how to handle it, not only learning my craft, but by watching professionals be professional.”
The actor also has a music career outside of acting, with a country album scheduled for release on April 17, 2026. Fans can hear one of his new songs playing during the emotional final scene of the Marshals pilot. “I wrote that song specifically thinking about Kayce’s journey,” Grimes told Rolling Stone. “It just felt right to use it there.”
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