TV Show review
March 1, 2026 · TV-14 · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Marshals is a CBS neo-Western police procedural and Yellowstone spin-off/sequel that follows ex-Navy SEAL and former rancher Kayce Dutton as he joins an elite U.S. Marshals team in Montana after his wife Monica's death. The series shifts the franchise from sprawling family saga to episodic team investigations, raids, and "range justice" against criminals, militias, and threats in the region while Kayce balances single parenthood with his son Tate. Audience-visible elements include a diverse core marshal team featuring prominent female members in tactical roles and a Black female character from an urban background, plus dialogue and plots framing harm to the Broken Rock Reservation in terms such as “radioactive colonialism” and repeated focus on protecting Native lands and people from external violence.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Marshals.
Woke representation / casting
Core team pairs two white ex-SEAL leads with a Black female marshal from urban Bronx background (Andrea Cruz, hard-headed, confronts legacy, manipulates situations) and a white female former ATF specialist (Belle Skinner) in tactical roles, plus Native ex-Marine marshal (Miles Kittle). Critics and viewers called out “PC algorithm” or “diversity box checking” selection for a rural Montana unit, with the urban minority woman and smaller-stature female members standing out as audience-visible in action contexts despite story justifications for some diversity via reservation ties.
Woke political dialogue
Rainwater explicitly ties Monica’s cancer to “radioactive colonialism” and states “America’s policies have long dumped a steady flow of poisons on our people.” Episode 1 uses Lakota title “Piya Wiconi” (“new beginning”) in reservation attack context; land/mining conflicts and militia threats repeatedly center indigenous grievances. These appear in key early scenes and set tone but remain secondary to procedural plot and action rather than extended sermons.
Identity-driven story themes
Multiple episodes revolve around threats to Broken Rock Reservation (bombings, violence, land disputes with ranchers/militias); Miles Kittle embodies Native/federal tension and reservation perspectives; Kayce’s grief arc links his late Native wife’s death directly to environmental harm on tribal land. Overarching focus stays on law enforcement duty and team operations, but reservation protection and identity-tied stakes recur noticeably.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Primary antagonists are anti-government militias and extremists portrayed as targeting vulnerable communities or reservation lands, with some nods to Dutton family history/skeletons and past actions via team comments or Kayce’s past. Marshals depicted as honorable last line of defense and protectors. Fits standard crime drama resistance to lawlessness more than reframed systemic critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, whiteness, or core Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Extends Kayce’s post-Yellowstone story by moving him into federal service (after prior badge rejection in source) and reframes the series as network procedural under new leadership. Monica’s death serves plot/land-framing purposes. These are premise adaptations for episodic format rather than identity-driven rewrites, race/gender swaps, or activist reinterpretations of canon or historical figures.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Vocal complaints on X and review sites targeted “girl-boss” female marshals in unrealistic combat roles against violent threats, “diversity box checking” cast (explicit calls of Black urban character and small white woman), “radioactive colonialism” phrasing, virtue-signaling titles, and portrayals of white right-wing villains preying on Natives or “White man’s greed.” Some labeled the whole “woke cop show” or corporate liberal influence on Sheridanverse. Present and specific among fans but not a dominant or sustained mainstream controversy.
Creator track record context
Showrunner Spencer Hudnut’s primary background is SEAL Team, a military procedural emphasizing veteran realism and service toll with no activist overlay. Taylor Sheridan (EP) has low cached score and history criticizing woke Hollywood elements. Writer Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. brings Native identity-focused filmmaking experience. Producers include Democratic donor Ron Burkle and Bob Yari (Crash race drama). Core military-veteran and traditional storytelling staff keep overall moderate; not a strongly activist creative team.
Production
