'Marshals' review: 'Yellowstone' sequel shows promise, but not enough

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) is living the quiet life near the former Dutton ranch when his one time SEAL partner, Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green), turns up with an offer. In this corner of Montana, Calvin runs a tight-knit unit of U.S. Marshals — Belle Skinner (Arielle Kebbel), Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos, "Mayor of Kingstown"), and Miles Kittle (Tatanka Means) — but wants to "sharpen the tip of the spear." Would Kayce like to join them? His close friends from the Rez, Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) and Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) can see the benefits.

This sequel to "Yellowstone" (which wrapped in 2024) also comes from Taylor Sheridan (although unlike most of his shows, he doesn't write this one).

MY SAY As drumrolls go, "Marshals" certainly has an impressive one. This is the first sequel to one of the most successful scripted series of the last decade — one that's already spawned hit prequels and spinoffs while supersizing a truly unconventional TV career. Everything Sheridan puts his name to succeeds, more or less, because he has eschewed those formulas that have turned so many prime-time network serials into the culinary equivalent of sawdust. He's not only a productive writer but a compelling one, who might even be a better horseman — a reason his shows seem to have more horses in starring roles than actual people.

There's your drumroll. Now about his new show: It's complicated (and not in a good way). Kayce Dutton was the uneasy conscience of "Yellowstone," and the reluctant enforcer torn between Dutton law (his father) and the greater good (Broken Rock Reservation). He was also a loner, or as he puts it here, "I'm an island, not a bridge, and things tend to get complicated when I get involved." What he really means is that they get complicated for him, so best to stay removed. He got his happy ending in "Yellowstone's" finale, on 5,000 forever-wild acres at East Camp, with 300 cattle, a wife and teenage son.

Without getting into spoilers, I'll leave it to you to imagine the sort of circumstances that'd drag him back into the fight. There has been online speculation that his long-suffering Native American wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), will not be part of this sequel. Go back to her last line in "Yellowstone," where she says, "This is how I'd always thought it would be in my dreams ..." Dreams have a way of dying hard in "Yellowstone." Will hers? Kayce's?

"Marshals" in fact opens with a nightmare. After Kayce wakes up from that the next morning, his former SEAL buddy turns up, and soon he's part of a manhunt. As it would happen — at least in "Marshals" — the mountains of Montana are absolutely crawling with neo-Nazis, skinheads, white nationalists and anti-government extremists, all tangled up with various cartels and outlaw motorcycle gangs. The good guys have their work cut out for them, and soon enough, the bullets are flying (the second act), the bodies are dropping (the third) and the celebratory beers are flowing at the local redneck dive (the 4th).

Welcome to another numbingly familiar CBS procedural, except "Marshals" isn't only dumb and violent. Not all of the wisdom, or intrigue, of "Yellowstone" has been lost on its offspring. There's a decent subplot that pits the "Rez" against a mining operation, while the murder of Kayce's brother, Jamie (Wes Bentley), remains a mystery, ready to spring a trap on the still living Duttons. (Beth — Kelly Reilly — and her husband Rip — Cole Hauser — are set to star in another sequel.)

There's still promise here, but over the first three episodes, not quite enough.

BOTTOM LINE Mostly boilerplate CBS procedural but at least the horses look great.