‘Marshals’ Reckons With the Sins of the Father

“Anytime we get a helicopter day, it’s a pretty good day,” says a smiling and easygoing Luke Grimes about shooting the action-packed second season premiere of this Yellowstone spinoff in which he plays rancher and US Marshal Kayce Dutton. The choppers and big guns come out as Kayce’s team works together to rescue his son Tate (Brecken Merrill). The teen was kidnapped by rich rancher Tom Weaver (Chris Mulkey) in the first season’s finale as part of his violent plan to force Kayce to sell his land.

Tate was taken by baddies once before, as a kid in the original Yellowstone, and that weighs heavily on Kayce now on Marshals. “The big arc this season is Kayce trying to deal with the repercussions of the things Tate has gone through, throughout his life. No one should have to see that much violence and darkness,” Grimes says. “Kayce takes swings at trying to help Tate. Sometimes those aren’t the right things. Sometimes those push them apart. I find it inspiring, whether he’s failing or not, he’s really trying, and that’s what it’s all about for him.”

The rescue effort makes Kayce realize that even though he is without his powerful family of origin, the Dutton clan of Yellowstone, someone’s still got his back. “He’s on his own. [Then] his teammates fill in the gaps where his family would’ve before,” Grimes says. Marshals Belle (Arielle Kebbel) and Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), who were ambushed by Weaver’s men in the finale, survive but aren’t unscathed. They eventually rejoin the rest of the team: determined New York transplant Andrea (Ash Santos) and loyal Broken Rock tribe member Miles (Tatanka Means).

The attack “drives everyone closer” Grimes says. “Throughout this season, Kayce has different relationships with every team member in its own way. It goes into more of their backstory so the audience can fall in love with them.” Expect storylines about Cal’s cancer diagnosis, Belle’s gambling problem, Andrea’s decision to stay in Montana, and Miles’ relationship with bartender Maddie (Morgan Lindholm, getting more screentime this season), who also happens to be Cal’s daughter. Adding to the mix is a new face, assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Burns (Marque Richardson).

Kayce also stays tight with his blood brothers, Broken Rock Tribe Chairman Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and Mo (Mo Brings Plenty). “The scenes of me and Rainwater don’t tend to be very light, but there’s a lot of fun happening behind the scenes,” Grimes says. “We get along so well. Him and Mo, none of the three of us take ourselves very seriously. We work hard and care about our work, but we don’t let that get in the way of a good time.”

Grimes confirms we won’t see Kayce’s sister Beth (Kelly Reilly) or her husband Rip (Cole Hauser), whose Texas adventures are being chronicled on Paramount+ drama Dutton Ranch, but adds, “It’s not out of the question that we might have some sort of crossover at some point. Beth’s basically Kayce’s only living family member other than Tate. It would make sense that down the line we’d at least talk. [Kelly and I have] texted about it back and forth a lot, talked about how it’d be fun and necessary for our story arcs, however they’re going to end.”

What we will see is plenty of action. When we spoke with Grimes, he was halfway through shooting the 20-episode season. It had been three months, and he was feeling all the cowboying. “My body reminds me every day,” the actor says of the job’s intense physicality.

But a recent shoot on horseback felt like a gift to Grimes, who’d just finished reading Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer-winning Western novel Lonesome Dove. “I had this feeling of being so lucky to get paid to sit on a horse. I needed that spark of inspiration after doing this character for so long.”

A tragic chapter for his character was losing his wife to cancer. Kayce may be ready for love again. “He’s starting to be open. It’s been long enough that no one would blame him for starting to have those thoughts. You’ll see him open up to the idea very, very slowly and very cautiously.” His new love is unlikely to be Weaver’s flirtatious daughter Dolly (Ellyn Jameson), who may or may not be in cahoots with her dad. Grimes says, “Kayce has his doubts about what side she’s on and struggles with that throughout the beginning of the season. No matter what side she’s on, I wouldn’t go there ever again, me personally.”

But there is one thing that has already been decided for Kayce. “He’s never going to outlive the legacy of who he comes from, a family that are fighters,” Grimes says. “It’s in him whether he likes it or not. He’s using it for something good with this team — helping people and doing good for his community. That’s what this show is about.”

Marshals, Season 2 Premiere, Sunday, October 4, 8:30/7:30c CBS