Kayce Dutton’s (Luke Grimes) Yellowstone spinoff is going to be very different from the rest of Taylor Sheridan’s acclaimed shows. Kayce Dutton’s upcoming Yellowstone spinoff show, which was recently revealed to be titled Y: Marshals, was already a unique part of the franchise. Instead of airing on the Paramount Network, Y: Marshals will be broadcast on CBS, one of the “big three” broadcast TV stations in America. It’s also set to be a police procedural focusing on Kayce’s exploits in law enforcement, rather than a straight drama with elements of action like Yellowstone or its prequel shows.
Perhaps the biggest change being made for Y: Marshals regards Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan was the creator, head writer, executive producer, and frequent director of Yellowstone, 1883, and 1923. He’s exercised almost complete creative control over the entire Yellowstone franchise since its inception, which is one of the reasons Yellowstone is the best shared TV universe ever. Y: Marshals, however, is set to change how involved Taylor Sheridan is with his own franchise.
Taylor Sheridan Doesn’t Have Creative Control Over Kayce’s Yellowstone Spinoff
Sheridan Is Just An Executive Producer, Y: Marshals Is Run By Spencer Hudnut
Despite his role as creator and main creative voice behind Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan won’t have the same role in Y: Marshals. Taylor Sheridan is only an executive producer of Y: Marshals, which means he won’t have the same creative control over the new show that he has had in every other Yellowstone show. Instead, Spencer Hudnut is acting as showrunner for Y: Marshals, meaning he’ll be the one in charge of creative decisions. Hudnut is best known for writing and producing shows like SEAL Team and Unforgettable. It’s safe to say that Y: Marshals won’t be solely Taylor Sheridan’s.
While this is the first time Taylor Sheridan won’t be holding the reins of a Yellowstone show, it’s not the first time he’s acted as mainly an executive producer. Sheridan acted mainly as a producer for both Lawman: Bass Reeves and Tulsa King, though he created the latter show. While both are distinctly Western and bear some of Sheridan’s trademark style choices, those shows are also the most significantly different from Yellowstone in terms of subject and tone. With someone else acting as showrunner, Y: Marshals could easily feel more like Tulsa King than Yellowstone.
How Kayce’s Spinoff On CBS Will Be Different From Yellowstone
Y: Marshals Will Have More Restrictions Than Yellowstone & Feel More Like A Classic Procedural
Without Taylor Sheridan as its lead creative voice, Y: Marshals could end up being very different from Yellowstone and its spinoffs. Perhaps the biggest change – and a potential reason Sheridan isn’t acting as showrunner – is the fact that Y: Marshals will be broadcast on CBS. As a major broadcast station, CBS and the shows it produces have more restrictions than those produced for Paramount Network or Paramount+. As a result, Y: Marshals will almost certainly have less swearing, less intense violence, and fewer controversial moments than Yellowstone does. Those aspects will likely still be present, just not to the same extent.
Y: Marshals has also been confirmed as a police procedural, which is a major structural shift to the classic Yellowstone formula (via TVLine). That means Y: Marshals will likely feel more similar to Western police procedurals like Walker or Longmire than to Yellowstone, which is a narrative drama with action elements. It’s not clear how important the procedural element is to Y: Marshals yet, but the series could easily focus more on Kayce’s weekly cases and investigations with only smaller elements of his overarching story with Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and Tate (Brecken Merrill).
Even though Y: Marshals could be significantly different from Yellowstone, there’s still a very good chance that it will be in line with the rest of the franchise. Spencer Hudnut reportedly worked on the idea for Y: Marhsals for a year, and both Taylor Sheridan and Luke Grimes considered his concept good enough to accept (via Deadline). Yellowstone is Taylor Sheridan’s flagship franchise for a reason, and he likely wouldn’t have greenlit Y: Marshals if he thought it was too different from his creation. If Y: Marshals is good enough for Sheridan, it’s almost certainly going to be a great part of Yellowstone.