‘Marshals’ Needs Taylor Sheridan

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Marshals Desperately Needs Taylor Sheridan's Help

What new threat could possibly place a gun in Kayce Dutton's (Luke Grimes) hands again? After selling his family's ranch in the Yellowstone finale and putting a life of violence behind him for the sake of his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbile) and his son Tate (Brecken Merill), Kayce would need Taylor Sheridan to write something massive for him to revert to his old ways—as if he didn't learn anything from his namesake's generational curse.

Marshals, the fourth Yellowstone spinoff series and the first to occur after the events of Yellowstone's finale, provides audiences with an answer in the very first episode: Kayce's wife is dead. As returning character Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) explains, Monica died from cancer after toxins seeped onto the reservation's lands by means of "radioactive colonialism." Kayce, an aimless and grieving widower who spends his days sulking on his ranch, is now desperate for a way forward.

Sending your character on a dark path of violence at the expense of their wife's life is nothing new. It's how audiences got John Wick, Mad Max, and hundreds of angry male literary heroes on a quest for revenge. You know the type: Tortured, yet badass characters who were just waiting for a reason to kill ... had they not been soothed by the calming presence of their significant other.

So, just like stealing John Wick's car and killing his dog, Kayce's trigger finger is restored. The weird bit, however, is that Monica died from cancer. Maybe, if Kayce was looking to join the US Marshals' investigation into bringing his wife's killer to justice, then it would be a different story. But that's not what the team went with here. So, Kayce needs a different reason. And if Marshals had an ounce more of Taylor Sheridan's magic in it, we might have eventually gotten there.

Instead, Kayce's story in Marshals is carried on by someone other than Sheridan for the first time in Yellowstone's history. Showrunner Spencer Hudnut's last project was Paramount's SEAL Team (2017), and it's clear that crime procedurals are where his strengths ultimately lie. But Yellowstone, a drama series that sought to produce something wholly different than what the traditional TV landscape already delivered, was—to put it frankly—a world away from all that bullshit.

Luke Grimes and Brecken Merrill in Marshals / photo by: CBS/Paramount

In Sheridan's original series, the most respected authority in the land was Livestock Commissioner. Anything higher than that, and you were a crooked nuisance, treading on the American dream. Yellowstone painted Montana as a world where the Duttons are the last protectors of a pure, untouched paradise. It wasn't as straightforward as good guys and bad guys. John Dutton branded his followers with the ranch's "Y," and each character was as deeply flawed as they were champions of their own ideals.

So, when US Marshal Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green) drives up to Kayce's door and declares that Montana is falling to the influence of "gangs, cartels, and race warriors," you couldn't design a rougher transition from Yellowstone to Marshals. These nameless new threats are dangerous, sure, but what do they have to do with Kayce? What do they have to do with Yellowstone?

In all fairness, Kayce always came from a different world than the rest of his family. He was a former Navy SEAL and—by extension of his marriage to Monica—a bridge between the Duttons and the Broken Rock Reservation. He never really understood his family's violent history, even when he was actively participating in it. That's why it was Kayce who eventually linked the two worlds in the finale and sold his father's land back to the reservation. He was the only Dutton who could end the cycle of violence. He was the one character who could end Yellowstone in a place that felt right.

But Marshals—and Paramount—had other plans for Kayce. Now, violence continues to find him, mostly because he's restless without Monica in his life. And now that Marshals has set up Montana as some supposed hotbed of criminal activity, his sense of duty returns. "You always told me to fight for the life I want, but I had the life I wanted with you," Kayce tells his wife's grave. "I'm changing paths, to try and find a new beginning for me and Tate." If violence follows the Duttons like a curse, then Kayce might as well help direct that energy somewhere useful, I guess.

It's a simple conceptual journey to sell, but Marshals doesn't really reach this conclusion from what we've seen so far in the premiere. It might have been possible had Sheridan been there to weave viewers through one of his patented, extended metaphors. Sadly, he's not here to usher us into the sequel.

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. As US Marshal newcomer Miles Kittle (Tatanka Means) simply states, he "signed up to crush skulls." And when Kayce saves the day by killing his first criminal, he tells Thomas Rainwater that it was "nice to kill for someone rather than something."

Kayce's selfless attitude might make things easier on the procedural writing team behind Marshals—and the viewers who are less familiar with the something that the Duttons were fighting for before. The first episode operates instead on the logic that there's really no time to think about why you're fighting when the devil comes knocking. I'm just not certain yet that it makes for a worthy continuation of Yellowstone's legacy.

Gil Birmingham returns as Thomas Rainwater in Marshals / photo by: CBS/Paramount

Mailbag!

As awards season hurtles to an end, Michael B. Jordan pulled off a big upset this weekend when he took home the SAG-AFTRA Actor Award for his dual role in Sinners. Timotheé Chalamet won the award last year despite his Bob Dylan movie eventually losing to Adrien Brody in The Brutalist at the Academy Awards—but Chalamet's another front-runner this year thanks to the success of Marty Supreme. Is Michael B. Jordan the new dark horse to watch for come Oscars Sunday on March 15? Or could Leonardo DiCaprio, Wagner Moura, or Ethan Hawke walk away the victor?

Let me know who you think will win the Oscar by emailing me at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com.

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The Continuing Adventures of the Esquire Entertainment Desk

Lewis Pullman told Anthony Breznican all about acting with his father, Bill Pullman, in the upcoming Spaceballs sequel. "We're both like, How awesome is this that we both love the same thing and we can learn from each other?" says Pullman. Read the full interview here.

Breznican also spoke to Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson about the latest installment in the campy horror franchise and Neve Campbell's big return. "It was such a joy to be reconnected with Neve in a much deeper way," he says. "I forgot how much I missed her." Read his wide-ranging interview with Williamson here.

Paul McCartney: Man on the Run director Morgan Neville told me what it was like to interview the music legend about the years right after The Beatles broke up. The new documentary explores McCartney's time with Wings in the '70s, as well as John Lennon's shocking death. "Even though most people think, How could I ever relate to somebody like Paul McCartney? my goal was to just treat him like a guy who's going through some shit," Neville says. Read the interview here.

Paul McCartney / photo provided by: Amazon Prime VIdeo

The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week

Winner: Movies

Paramount won the bidding war for Warner Bros. The company is set to drastically alter Hollywood once the deal goes through, but at least Paramount CEO David Ellison is committed to the theatrical experience. Under Netflix, many critics feared that CEO Ted Sarandos would eventually release Warner Bros. straight to streaming. This is a small win for the theaters. (I hope.)

Loser: The People Who Make Movies

That said, Paramount's merger with Warner Bros. comes with its own slew of issues. For starters? Hollywood insiders expect that combining two film studios will result in massive layoffs. Ellison already warned employees that "significant efficiencies" will take place once the deal goes through.

Winner: The People Who Sell Movies

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslov is sitting on a pretty penny after this weekend, as he raised the price of Warner Bros. from roughly $83 billion to $111 billion. A good day for the shareholders, I guess. Though I can't speak for the rest of us!

Loser: The People Who See Movies

AMC Theaters announced this past week that their "best seats" will soon become priority access for AMC Stubs members. So, if you want to sit right in the middle of the theater, you might need to pay AMC a monthly fee … on top of the ticket price. Naturally, everyone hates this idea.

Winner: The People Who Text During Movies

Speaking of bad movie ideas, Alamo Drafthouse is facing backlash for its new mobile food ordering policy. Despite its history of strictly banning texters during the movie, the theater chain will now allow people to order food and drink straight from their phones. So, not only will you sit in the front row now at AMC theaters, but you'll watch a sea of screens at Alamo. Good grief.