Luke Grimes echoesYellowstonefans' sentiments when he explains why he agreed to sign on to a spinoff about Kayce Dutton,Y: Marshals. Grimes portrayed the youngest and most emotionally tormented male Dutton in all fiveseasons ofYellowstone, which ended with Kayce selling the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to the Broken Rock tribe. Kayce had a happy ending with his wife and son, so it was genuinely surprising news that Grimes would reprise Kayce in a new spinoff series on CBS, which will air Sunday night in Spring 2026.

Speaking toPeople,Luke Grimes detailed how it felt to say goodbye (or so he thought) to Kayce Dutton at theend ofYellowstone,and why he agreed to return forY: Marshals.LikeYellowstone’s fans, Grimes, the actors, and"the studio and network certainly didn’t want it to be over,“and Luke decided to return because there was"a really good idea"for Kayce’s spinoff that he thinks"will rope the audience in.“Read Grimes' quotes below:

A close up of Kayce and Monica in Yellowstone

Nobody wanted it to be over. I don’t think the fans wanted it to be over. A lot of us actors kind of didn’t want it to be over, and the studio and network certainly didn’t want it to be over… To attempt to put that show away, it was hard. It was really hard, and I know this is going to sound weird, but it was sort of emotional. It was like losing a family in a way.

“On the last day of shooting [Yellowstone], I thought it was my last day as Kayce. It was over to me. It was seven years of playing a person that I’ll never see again, except for having his hat and jacket in my closet. It wasn’t until probably three or four months after that that everything started aligning for the [spinoff]… Finally came along a really good idea…

Yellowstone (2018) TV Show Poster

If it was just like, ‘well, he’s happy’ — we’re just going to watch him be happy? That’s not very cool. But I’ll say this, the idea that was pitched to me is very, very good and very interesting and it really roped me in and I think it will rope the audience in as well.

How Kayce’s Y: Marshals Spinoff Will Be Different From Yellowstone

Some Familiar Faces Will Still Appear

According to the show’s description,“In Y: Marshals, Kayce has joined an elite team of U.S. marshals. He’ll be seen combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty, and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.“While it seemsY: Marshalswill containYellowstone’s trademark action and violence, Kayce’s spinoff will still differ from Taylor Sheridan’s original neo-Western.

CBS’Y: Marshalswill be a procedural,which lines up with the network’s traditional genre of hit series, and breaks from the serialized format ofYellowstone.CBS hasn’t confirmed that Kelsey Asbille and Brecken Merrill will return as Kayce’s wife, Monica, and son, Tate, but Grimes says"familiar faces"will appear inY: Marshalsas well as a slew of new characters. Although Kayce"is back to who he really is and his soul"at the end ofYellowstone, Grimes hints at"a new set of circumstances"that sends the heroic Dutton back to action inY: Marshals.

Our Take On Luke Grimes' Yellowstone Spinoff

Y: Marshals Sounds Like It Is And Isn’t Yellowstone

CBS aired seasons ofYellowstone,albeit edited to network television standards, andY: Marshalswill likely fit that mold without pushing to the extremes likeYellowstoneoften did.Kayce’s ending inYellowstonewas satisfying, so it will be curious to see what drives him back to action as U.S. marshal, especially after he famously gave up being livestock commissioner inYellowstone.It would also make no sense for Monica and Tate to be omitted fromY: Marshals.Kayce’s family has to be the beating heart and center of his spinoff,as it was inYellowstone.

AnotherYellowstonespinoff,The Madison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, is also filming and is expected to stream on Paramount+.

The originalYellowstoneseries is branching out into two subsets:Y: Marshalson CBS and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler’s spinoff, which premieres in November on Paramount+. Kayce and Beth remained in Montana afterYellowstoneended, so it would be odd if the circumstances of different spinoffs on separate networks would keep the usually close brother and sister apart. Kayce remains the most heroic and admirable of the Duttons inYellowstone, so it’s exciting that Luke Grimes found a concept forY: Marshalsgood enough for him to don his cowboy hat again.