Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’ Spin-Off Officially Defeats ‘Tracker’

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema. 

Few television writers are as prolific as Taylor Sheridan, who is almost single-handedly dominating the Paramount+ viewership charts with his expanding arsenal of hits. Perhaps David E. Kelley and Steven Knight come close, but even they aren’t as consistent as Sheridan. This year alone, the mogul has delivered the hit debut seasons of Dutton Ranch and The Madison, the third season of Lioness, and the fourth season of Tulsa King. His influence is spilling over to linear television, where a spin-off based on his landmark Yellowstone franchise has emerged as the number-one narrative show.

Sheridan’s reign began in 2018 with the original Yellowstone, which ran for five seasons until 2023. During its run, Sheridan also produced two prequels — 1883, which ran for a single season, and 1923, which aired for two seasons. Both shows earned rave reviews, with many hailing them as superior to Yellowstone. Following his initial success, he also produced hits such as Mayor of Kingstown, which is gearing up to air its fifth and final season, and Landman, which will soon return with a third season, in addition to working on movies such as Without Remorse and Those Who Wish Me Dead.

Sheridan’s deal with Paramount is wrapping up, but he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Even if he isn’t directly overseeing the Yellowstone franchise’s expansion, he remains creatively involved in shows such as Tulsa King and its upcoming spin-off, Frisco King, starring Samuel L. Jackson. However, even without his involvement, one Yellowstone spin-off is carving a unique identity for itself on television.

We’re talking, of course, about Marshals. The procedural premiered earlier this year to mediocre reviews and audience reception and returned with a second season in October. The new season has received better reviews, with Collider’s Michael John Petty writing in his review, “No matter if you’re a Yellowstone fan too invested to stop now or a newcomer who has hopped on the Dutton train for the very first time, Marshals Season 2 packs a punch and is promising more.” Meanwhile, audiences seem to have warmed up to its old-fashioned narrative as well.

The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.

You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.

You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.

You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.

You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.

Here’s How Well ‘Marshals’ Performed on the Nielsen Charts

• Image via Fred Hayes/CBS

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Image via Fred Hayes/CBS

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• Image via Fred Hayes/CBS

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Image via Fred Hayes/CBS

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According to the latest Nielsen report, Marshals drew nearly 8 million viewers in the week of October 26 to November 1. This makes the Yellowstone spin-off the number-one scripted television show in the United States, marking an improvement over its original run earlier this year. This past week, the series outperformed fellow CBS hit Tracker, which drew around 7 million viewers. Marshals is midway through its second season, which will probably end in late December or early January. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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