CBS Hit Returns, Finally Fixing the Biggest Problem With Paramount+’s Flagship Franchise

I know, shocker: CBS is not letting its biggest moneymaker sit the year out. In a rare move for the network, Marshals is coming back for Season 2 in the very same year Season 1 premiered. That almost never happens, even in this ever-expanding Yellowstone universe. The franchise only pulled this kind of quick turnaround once before, back in 2022. Usually it is a long wait between seasons, and fans stew. Not this time.

What Marshals actually is

Marshals picks up after the events of Yellowstone and follows Kayce Dutton as he joins the U.S. Marshals, taking his brand of frontier problem-solving into official federal-badge territory across Montana. The job is messy, the landscape is gorgeous, and Kayce is constantly stuck between two loyalties: serve the public, or protect the family.

• Kayce Dutton joins a U.S. Marshals team tasked with cleaning up trouble in Montana
• His unit includes Pete Calvin, Belle Skinner, Andrea Cruz, and Miles Kittle
• Core tension: Kayce balancing duty to the badge with duty to his family

So... does it live up to Yellowstone?

Short answer: critics say no, at least so far. Season 1 landed at 42% with critics and an even rougher 26% with general audiences. The common knock is that it plays like a familiar procedural draped in rugged scenery, without the texture that made Yellowstone pop.

"Kayce's life is now a kind of TV show that you've seen countless times before. It doesn't have the same artfulness behind it, and the pacing barely leaves time for sweeping shots of the Montana valley or reflection of any kind."

- Critic Josh Rosenberg

Fans have been pretty blunt too. One viewer put it this way: "I want to like it. I liked Kayce's character a lot, but the rest of the cast here makes it feel like a CSI episode." Another added: "Yeah, the women characters in particular are written to seem tough, but it just sounds shallow and obnoxious. I find this is the issue with most of the women characters in Sheridan shows."

The Sheridan factor, and what changes in Season 2

Even though Taylor Sheridan is only an executive producer here, his fingerprints are all over the premise and tone. That said, Marshals has not bottled the same lightning Yellowstone did. The upside? CBS is fast-tracking Season 2 for this fall, which tells you the network sees an audience and wants momentum. If you already vibe with the Yellowstone world, there is probably enough here to keep you checking in — even if Season 1 felt like comfort-food TV with a badge.

Bottom line: CBS is breaking its own playbook to get Marshals back on the air this year. Whether that quick turnaround sparks a creative jump remains to be seen, but the show has a chance to course-correct — and soon.