“Marshals”: beauty, gunfire and domineering dads

As “Marshals” launches its first full season, it has an ongoing theme.
Yes, this is still an action show. The season-opener — 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4 (but 8 p.m. on the West Coast), launching what CBS calls Premiere Week — has guns blazing from horsemen, helicopter and Jeep.
But beyond that are questions about following a strong father. That’s “definitely a theme throughout the season,” said showrunner Spencer Hudnut.
We see that in the opener, with Dolly Weaver and her domineering dad; Kayce Dutton likes one, hates the other. And we see it with Kayce’s struggles with his son (shown here).
In the “Yellowstone” series, John Dutton (Kevin Costner) was admired by many people, but less so by his younger son. Kayce broke away, married Monica Long, and lived with her on the reservation, raising their son Tate.
But now Monica has died of cancer. Kayce, Hudnut said, sees himself in his dad’s position, “being a single parent, being frustrated with a teenager who has his own ideas.” Kayce is “trying to figure out what kind of Dutton man is he putting out into the world.”
For Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce, that’s helped by the fact that he’s been working with Brecken Merrill (who plays Tate) for nine years.
“It’s a trip, watching a little kid grow up,” Grimes said. “He’s 18 now and just (now) able to come to the set … by himself, without his mom. When we started, he was 9 years old; he was tiny.”
But no, Grimes said, he’s not Brecken’s mentor or father figure. “That’s never been our thing. We’re just buds, and we like working together.”
That work is in the natural beauty of Utah, which is standing in for Montana.
“Summit County is one of the prettiest places in America,” said Logan Marshall-Green, who plays Cal, Kayce’s boss and his former military colleague, adding: “It’s dreamlike sometimes. It’s cold, but it’s beautiful.”
Ash Santos plays a sorta-outsider, a New Yorker who transferred West. In real life, she fits some of that — she was born in the Bronx and grew up in the Hudson Valley — but she moved to Utah at 18 and felt ready for marshal duty.
“I grew up with a detective as a father, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary to (be) shooting at the range as a kid,” she said. Also, “I was thankful I had a few years of horseback riding under my belt.”
But there’s always more to learn. Arielle Kebbel, who plays another marshal, would seem to fit the role easily. She’s had plenty of action roles, has done lots of gun-toting, owns her own mustang and spends weekends with groups helping wild horses. Even for her, however, this is complicated.
“You’re dealing with really rocky, tough terrain,” she said. “You’re out in the elements and then you’ve got to look smooth carrying these giant weapons.”
Those mega-weapons will be blazing in the opener. Alongside any generational dramas, there’s still peril and gunfire.