One of CBS's biggest upcoming TV crime dramas just made a unique change to its title! Why is it happening?
CBS is taking a longer midseason break than usual before new episodes of their hit shows return. The network is taking all of January off and most of February, likely to avoid the Winter Olympics, among other events.
One show taking a longer time to premiere is Y: Marshals. The spinoff of the hit Yellowstone franchise is slated to premiere on Sunday, March 1, and was promoted under that title. However, per The Hollywood Reporter, CBS has now renamed the series, dropping the “Y” part of the title to make it simply Marshals.
The show has Luke Grimes reprising his Yellowstone role as Kayce Dutton, a former Navy SEAL and top rancher. The series focuses on Kayce joining a Montana-based team of U.S. Marshals investigating crimes across the region while balancing his family life, thus turning the soap opera drama into a procedural.
To rename the show so soon before its premiere is rare, so why is it happening?
Why is Marshals being renamed?
The series had been pushed under a “working title” of Y: Marshals, but as soon as it was picked up, all of the promotional material used that as the real title. A CBS representative told THR that “The Y was always considered silent internally,” although it will remain in the promo and show logo. It seemed logical to keep it in order to draw in Yellowstone fans. So why this change?
One reason could be that CBS is worried that not enough viewers will have been fans of Yellowstone. They won’t be as connected to Luke and thinking they have to watch that drama to understand this spinoff. By breaking away from the Yellowstone moniker and shadow, the series has a better shot at making its mark as its own show. It'll also help fans used to Yellowstone's raunchy language adjust to the spinoff airing on network TV.
Another reason could be the complex relationship between Paramount and Taylor Sheridan. The actor/writer/producer struck gold with Yellowstone and its various spinoffs, as well as Paramount+ hits such as Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown. He was a force pushing for Yellowstone to make it on network TV with Marshals.
However, Sheridan is leaving Paramount for a new deal at NBC Universal. So while the CBS rep denied it to THR, it’s not hard to imagine CBS/Paramount is peeved at Sheridan leaving after they negotiated a big deal for him and want to get further away from his work by dropping the Yellowstone name altogether.
Or it could be the simpler explanation that Y: Marshals sounded too goofy and going by the agency title is better. It'll help with promotion as Yellowstone fans will still check it out while newbies don't need to worry about binging the franchise first. However, it falls out, the show has its title, and is ready to entertain fans by any name.
Marshals premieres on Sunday, March 1 at 8/7c on CBS. It will stream on Paramount+ the following day.