- - “Y: Marshals” showrunner says Kayce Dutton is focused on 'being a father' in“ Yellowstone ”spinoff (exclusive)

Samantha HighfillDecember 18, 2025 at 4:00 AM

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Sonja Flemming/CBS

Mo Brings Plenty, Gil Birmingham, and, Luke Grimes on 'Y: Marshals'

Kayce Dutton is leaving his ranching days behind for something more ... exciting.

When Y: Marshals premieres, the Yellowstone spinoff will follow Luke Grimes' Kayce as he embarks on a career as a U.S. Marshal. "He is a cowboy, but he is also a Navy Seal, so he has this incredible toolkit of skills to put to the test," showrunner Spencer Hudnut tells Entertainment Weekly. "He's a guy who excels running into the fire. As we saw all through Yellowstone, he is really the essence of being a protector, so it felt very natural for him to end up in a position like this where he's putting others first."

It's true. For five seasons on Yellowstone, viewers watched Kayce risk his life for the people he loves, most notably his wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and son, Tate (Breckin Merrill). "Protecting the ranch and all he got up to in Yellowstone kept him very busy," Hudnut continues. And when Y: Marshals picks up about a year after the end of the flagship series — which saw Kayce secure East Camp of the ranch for his family and 300 cows — things have changed.

"This 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 says. "He's a changed man."

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Luke Grimes and Logan Marshall-Green on 'Y: Marshals'

Although Asbille has not been confirmed to be part of the new series, Merrill is set to reprise his role as Tate, who's now 17 years old. "Kayce having this opportunity to spend more time at home and be more focused on continuing to evolve as a father is definitely one of the big storylines," Hudnut continues. "I think Kayce primarily always saw himself as a provider and a protector to his son, but maybe left the parenting to his wife. But as he's had a little more time on the home front, one of the things we get to see is the bond between Kayce and his son and also just seeing Kayce beginning to see a lot more of himself in his son as well."

That father-son bonding time might also cause Kayce to reflect on his own relationship with his father, John (Kevin Costner), who was killed in Yellowstone's final season. "Kayce finds himself echoing his own father in some ways as a parent. Through Tate, Kayce gets to understand his father better, even though he's obviously passed away."

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Kayce anchors what Hudnut calls the "non-traditional procedural," which will follow a team of Marshals, including Kayce's former Seal Team leader, Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green), who also leads this team; Bronx native Andrea (Ash Santos), who finds herself exiled to Montana after opening her mouth at the wrong time at her old job; Belle (Arielle Kebbel), a former ATF agent who loves undercover work; and Miles (Tatanka Means), a former police officer from the Broken Rock reservation who Hudnut says "got tired of busting his own people and felt he'd be better served protecting them as a Marshal."

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Tatanka Means, Ash Santos, Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel, and Luke Grimes on 'Y: Marshals'

"It's a show about a bunch of people at work who are really good at what they do," Hudnut says, adding, "but we get into their personal lives and this family comes together over the course of the first season."

But fear not, Yellowstone fans, Tate and Kayce aren't the only familiar faces in the mix. Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and his righthand man, Mo (Mo Brings Plenty), are both returning for the new show.

"Getting to write for Gil is one of the greatest things in my writing career," Hudnut says. "I love working with him. Having Rainwater and Mo, any connective tissue we can get to Yellowstone is so great for our show. Watching Kayce and Rainwater's relationship evolve is a really nice storyline for us because they became so close by the end of Yellowstone. Rainwater's even a little bit of a paternal figure for Kayce with his dad passing, so their relationship is one of my favorite things in the show."

For Hudnut, who's new to the Yellowstone world — as a writer, not as a fan — this show is both an exciting opportunity and, at times, a daunting task. "The pressure is really [taking] on a character who was written by the best writer of my generation in Taylor Sheridan. Trying to emulate that is very intimidating," he says. "And obviously, Yellowstone was such a massive hit that it can be a little overwhelming. But at the same time, I was given one of the most iconic characters in television this century, so I think any pressure is trumped by the opportunity to keep telling stories about such a great character in such a great world."

Those stories continue when Y: Marshals premieres Sunday, March 1, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, on CBS.

on Entertainment Weekly

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