Why Luke Grimes Thought ‘Marshals’ Would Only Last One Season
Actor Luke Grimes has admitted he is pleasantly surprised by the continued longevity of Marshals as the CBS procedural progresses into its second season. Despite reprising his career-defining role as Kayce Dutton, Grimes revealed he initially entered the Yellowstone spin-off with rock-bottom expectations regarding its broadcast lifespan.
Speaking candidly to The Hollywood Reporter, Grimes shared that he had fully braced for a “one and done” run rather than a multi-season franchise:
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Relishing the Character Without High Expectations: Reflecting on his initial mindset, Grimes stated: “To be completely honest, that’s what I thought was going to happen. (We’d only go one season). I really thought, ‘At least I don’t have to put him away just yet.’ I love playing Kayce. This has been the greatest character of my life, and here I am, nine years later, still playing him… So I was like, if it’s just one season, it’s just one season, and it’ll be fun; I get to put the costume back on. And here we are — it looks like we’ll be doing it for a while.”
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Surpassing Projections Across Streaming Platforms: Grimes was particularly taken aback by the sheer size of the viewership that migrated over from Yellowstone, noting that performance metrics—especially on streaming platforms—exceeded everyone’s internal benchmarks. He confessed to having had genuine reservations about transporting Kayce’s narrative into an entirely different episodic procedural format.
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A Grounded Approach to the Future: Despite the overwhelming reception, Grimes remains pragmatic about the show’s future. Noting that he remains unaware of showrunner Spencer Hudnut’s multi-year blueprint, the actor prefers focusing on the work one season at a time.