“Marshals” Premiere Attracts Historic Number Of Viewers
on Mar 04, 2026
A New Yellowstone Spin-Off Debuted On March 1
The Marshals premiere aired on CBS on Sunday, March 1. The brand-new Yellowstone spin-off follows Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) in his pursuit of a “new beginning.”
Kayce finds that new beginning by joining an elite team of U.S. Marshals in Montana. As he finds his footing in his new position, he also struggles with indescribable grief following a heartbreaking loss in his family.
We won’t spoil the first episode’s events and plot points in this article. But you can head here if you’d like a thorough recap of the premiere.
RELATED: “MARSHALS” STAR LUKE GRIMES EXPLAINS HOW THE SHOW IS “VERY DIFFERENT” FROM YELLOWSTONE
In addition to Grimes, Yellowstone‘s Brecken Merrill (Tate Dutton), Gil Birmingham (Thomas Rainwater), and Mo Brings Plenty (Mo) all reprise their roles in Marshals.
New cast members include Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, and Tatanka Means.
Country music star Riley Green also made his acting debut in Marshals. His character’s name is Garrett.
How Many Viewers Watched The Marshals Premiere?
The numbers are in, and they show how many people caught the Marshals premiere.
According to Deadline, 9.52 million viewers tuned in to watch the series’ first episode. That makes Marshals the most-watched new series premiere for the 2025-2026 broadcast season so far. Therefore, it was also the most-watched broadcast series of the entire week, surpassing Tracker and 60 Minutes.
It’s a historic accomplishment for the Yellowstone spin-off. Deadline notes that Marshals had the biggest premiere for a scripted series on CBS without a direct or indirect football-related lead-in in nearly 8 years.
The previous record holder for that stat was FBI, which premiered on September 25, 2018, attracting 10.09 million viewers.
Additionally, Marshals maintained 99% viewership retention from the first half hour of the episode to the second. That makes it clear that the show hooked viewers in and kept them interested from start to finish.
The next episode of Marshals airs on CBS at 8 PM ET on Sunday, March 8.
Paramount+ Premium subscribers can stream the series at the same time on Sundays. However, Paramount+ Essential subscribers have to wait until the following day (Monday) to stream the show.
Were you one of the 9.52 million people who watched the Marshals premiere?
