Spoilers for Marshals Season 1, Episode 5 are ahead! Read with caution, and watch the series every Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. ET or the next day with a Paramount+ subscription.
The episode of Marshals that premiered on the 2026 TV schedule this week was all about an American Indian girl who was kidnapped. Later, it’s revealed that she’s being held with multiple others who were taken too. Overall, this episode addresses the problem of missing American Indians, which has been a very big issue in the United States. So, I asked Mo Brings Plenty, who plays Mo, about it, and he told me why he’s “thankful” that the series included a case like this one.
Through a storyline involving Tate seeing one of his friends, Hailey, who had gone missing, the missing and murdered indigenous people crisis was at the center of the episode “Lost Girls.” When I asked Mo Brings Plenty about how he thinks the show handled it, he told me:
Article continues belowWe handled it rather well, honestly…Dealing with a lot of that in real life, I try not to allow my emotions be the driving force, you know. I always have to try to look at it from a different perspective, but I'm thankful to Spencer [Hudnut], to the writing crew for incorporating that, and for CBS for allowing us to share that, because it is a real-life issue, and it's just not the women.
He then told me how this storyline relates to his own life. In 2024, his nephew, Cole Brings Plenty, was found dead a few days after he was named as a suspect in a domestic violence case. According to THR, the Lawrence Police Department in Kansas said the case “contains clear evidence that there was no foul play involved in Cole’s death and that Cole acted alone.”
Mo told me his family is still looking for answers, and he’s happy the show addressed a situation that shared parallels with what he’s been through:
You know, I look at my nephew who was murdered in here in the state of Kansas, and we still, you know, haven't got any answers for that. And so it's a real-life situation. So I'm thankful. I'm just thankful, on behalf of all the families that do have loved ones missing, you know, it's a legit deal.
Now, seeing as Marshals has already been renewed for Season 2, Plenty is looking forward to the CBS series being able to address stories about American Indians:
I hope we continue, because there are so many different stories that we could bring to light in that. And also, they could have a positive ending too, an outcome.
After saying that, I mentioned that it’s amazing to see these stories on such a mainstream platform. In response, he told me that they “hope” to “continue.”
He also hopes that some of these stories can have happy endings. Specifically citing the first episode, he said:
Let’s take the first episode over the little girl was taken to [the lake] and Kayce and [the Marshals] save that little girl, to bring her back, along with her mother, and so that was a positive outcome to that. And it just goes to show what can be accomplished – because we're tax-paying people as well. And so we should have services that benefit us as well, or look out for us as well. So I'm thankful again. So thankful.
Over the years, Mo Brings Plenty has not just acted in Yellowstone and Marshals. He also worked as the American Indian affairs coordinator on 1923 and Kayce’s spinoff.
So, I asked him about the nuances of creating a storyline like the one we follow in Episode 5. In response, he said:
You know, I talked to one of the other writers, Mark, and they dove into a lot of different cases that were going on. And so they just kind of looked at all of them, and then just came up with that.
He also told me that if showrunner Spencer Hudnut wanted to chat with him about it, he was always open. Overall, Plenty made it clear that this kind of work is wonderful to see, and he’s very happy that it’s continued beyond Yellowstone:
Anytime I can help out Spencer would give me a call and would have a conversation. But you know, Spencer, the writing crew, so amazing, so amazing. It's so delightful. And just that continuation of the breath of fresh air. And so it's like we never left Yellowstone. Here we are Marshals, and we still have that same spirit, that same energy and same life.
It was clear how thankful Mo Brings Plenty is to be on Marshals and to have a show that features stories about American Indian people. This week in particular addressed a very major one, and it will continue into next week’s episode too, seeing as it ended on a cliffhanger.
So, to see how this particular story ends, make sure to tune into Marshals next Sunday on CBS. Then, make sure to tune in every week after that to see more stories about Broken Rock, Kayce Dutton and the Marshals.
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