The Yellowstone universe’s first modern-day follow-up, Marshals, is almost here to finally answer some big fan questions, such as what happened to Monica, and how Beth and Rip’s absences will be explained as they gear up for their own spinoff. Shockingly enough, one of my other overarching concerns about Marshals’ arrival on the 2026 TV schedule has actually already been answered thanks to the latest bit of casting news.
Ahead of its March 1 series premiere, Marshals has added the former star of another highly successful genre series with a high spinoff rate: The Walking Dead vet Michael Cudlitz. He’s set for a recurring guest star role, according to EW, but it doesn’t sound like he and Kayce Dutton are destined to be BFFs in the foreseeable future.
Who Is Michael Cudlitz Playing In Marshals?
Seen most recently opposite the Man of Steel as Superman and Lois' Lex Luthor, Michael Cudlitz won't be playing a character who's quite so univerally recognizable in Marshals, but I won't go on the record saying this dude will be a lot nicer. He's set to portray Randall Clegg, the gruff patriarch of another legacied ranching family in Montana. Their time on the land doesn't stretch back quite as long as the Duttons', but I don't foresee Randall willingly copping to being the second most noteworthy clan in the area.
While it's not specified just how many installments Cudlitz will appear in, his arrival will take place in the episode airing on CBS on March 15. So fans will get a couple of episodes to get to retouch base with Kayce and meet his squad of fellow Marshals.
How Cudlitz's Randall Clegg Soothes One Of My Yellowstone-Related Concerns
To date, Marshals’ storyline has mostly been described as centering on Kayce following up on all the family’s ranch-related drama by joining the U.S. Marshal Service and leaning into that brand of frontier justice — pun fully intended — by guiding a team of brave badasses through the physical and psychological turmoil that comes with the badge. Combine that logline with CBS’ long history with job-centric procedural dramas, and like me, you might expect for Marshals to also fall into a case-of-the-week pattern.
But Cudlitz joining the series means that Marshals will indeed keep some of Yellowstone's serialized storytelling intact, which is definitely what I was hoping for from this show. Nothing against procedurals, but it'd be too much of a jolt to go from one extreme to the other without some crossover.
As well, Randall Clegg seems like he'll fill the role of a central villain, even if only in a recurring capacity, which is an element that always made Yellowstone better in my eyes. The Duttons are only so interesting without a charismatic and captivating antagonist standing in the way, and I love the lack of intimidation that comes across when Cudlitz shows up in the trailer below.
It's not much, granted, but it's enough to get me pumped about what could go down between those two a bit later in the season. Maybe they can both fight that bear from the first trailer.
Check out the rest of the announced cast below.
- Logan Marshall-Green
- Arielle Kebbel
- Ash Santos
- Tatanka Means
- Gil Birmingham (From Yellowstone)
- Mo Brings Plenty (From Yellowstone)
- Brecken Merrill (From Yellowstone)
- Guest star: Country music star Riley Green
Michael Cudlitz played the flame-haired fan favorite Abraham for several seasons of the flagship Walking Dead drama's core run, and he played heavily into the most controversial episode of that horror-drama's run. I cannot foresee the same kind of plotline playing out on Marshals, but then again, I wouldn't have guessed how Yellowstone Season 5 played out, so I'm willing to keep an open mind.
Marshals kicks off on CBS starting on Sunday, March 1, with episodes available to stream the next day via Paramount+ subscription.
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