Yellowstone became a sprawling narrative, with all its spin-offs and extensions. Taylor Sheridan mastered Western storytelling with this show, but if Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian were adapted properly, it would easily give Yellowstone a run for its money.

Here’s an overview of the Paramount show:

 

 

TitleYellowstoneGenreAmerican neo‑Western drama CreatorTaylor Sheridan and John LinsonMain castKevin Costner (John Dutton) plus ensemble supporting castSeasons and Episodes 5 Seasons and 53 Episodes IMBb Rating8.6/10Rotten Tomatoes Score83%

McCarthy is the mind behind No Country for Old Men, and Blood Meridian is one of his darkest and most revered novels ever written about the American West. Now, let’s look at why the writer…

CBS’ upcoming Yellowstone spin-off series Y: Marshals looks to be making a last-minute change ahead of its March 1 release. While the series has been running under the same name since it was announced in May 2025, it looks like it will be dropping the “Y” when it expands the Taylor Sheridan franchise beyond Paramount+.

The series has plenty of connections to Yellowstone as it focuses on Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes). Returning Yellowstone cast members joining Grimes include Gil Birmingham (Thomas Rainwater), Mo Brings Plenty (Mo), and Brecken Merrill (Tate), alongside newcomers Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, and Logan Marshall-Green. The short synopsis reads, “Former U.S. Navy SEAL and rancher Kayce Dutton joins a specialized group of U.S. Marshals charged with protecting Montana.” As per The Hollywood Reporter, this has nothing to do with CBS wanting to remove the “Y” for its connection to Yellowstone, but it was apparently always just the “working title” of the series.

So, although the series will still have the symbol on the posters and as a constant presence in the show, it will not be part of the title with the show now being simply called Marshals. This is certainly not the first time that the stylization of a title has become a talking point, as many shows and movies have had PR teams on a constant quest to correct capitalization, hyphens and more little nuances that are frequently utilized.

The Western genre has always been popular, and modern takes on dusty ranches have been booming in the last decade, mostly thanks to the arrival of Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone. While the creator has been behind spin-off shows such as 1883 and 1923, as well as other Paramount+ hits like Landman, Tulsa King, and Lioness, he is not about to have much input in Marshals.

Obviously, the new series takes Sheridan’s characters in new directions, but the question is, can the series manage to deliver more success without Sheridan holding the reins at least a little? The writer/director/actor has previously stepped into some of his other shows when things seemed to have been slipping away, but with his contract at Paramount coming to an end, that doesn’t seem like it will be a priority for him this time around.