There are a lot of reasons that Yellowstone fans should be excited about the upcoming Luke Grimes-led sequel series, Y: Marshals. For starters, it will likely follow a procedural format rather than a serialized one, and it’s going to put Kayce Dutton back in the law enforcement saddle. But there’s one other departure that may do the series some good. Although he’ll remain onboard as an executive producer, still offering his creative input, Taylor Sheridan won’t be writing each episode as he did with the previous series. While this may be a turn-off for some (and may be exciting for others who hated the Yellowstone finale), we think it could aid the series in the long run.

Taylor Sheridan Won’t Be Writing Episodes of ‘Y: Marshals’

Over the years, many have pointed out that Taylor Sheridan has a habit (whether bad or not is up for debate) of writing every episode of every major show he creates. He did so for Landman, Lioness, and the first season of Mayor of Kingston, and has also penned nearly every installment of the Yellowstone universe to date. While Yellowstone‘s second season featured a writer’s room (and was the only one to do so), Sheridan is still listed as a co-writer on every episode, having likely rewritten many of them himself. So, for Y: Marshals to go a different direction is a big deal, especially since the franchise was his first venture into television and arguably his most notable work. For Sheridan not to be as heavily involved may come as a surprise to longtime fans, but it’s probably for the best.

As Sheridan continues to work on various other Yellowstone-related prequels, spin-offs, and sequels, the best way to give Kayce Dutton some real direction in life is by finding new voices who won’t write him as directionless. We’ve noted for years that Kayce (of all characters) never had a clear purpose on Yellowstone. He never knew what he wanted, and the results meant that we got more of the same with each new installment. Things only really changed for the character with the Season 4 finale, leading to the death of his father, John Dutton (Kevin Costner), which also spurred a real change. No doubt, Kayce’s work solving his father’s murder was the initial inspiration for him to headline a show called (at least for the moment) Y: Marshals, and while Sheridan will still be involved (as he should be), this development may open the door for more interesting stories for the most underdeveloped branch of the Dutton family tree.

‘Y: Marshals’ Will Benefit From New Voices in the Writers’ Room

With Y: Marshals having to work within the broadcast standards and practices of network television (it’s set to air on CBS early next year), it’s clear that this show is a bit out of Sheridan’s element. Not that he probably couldn’t write a killer network TV drama, but Sheridan is used to the complete freedom of cable and streaming platforms, which allow him to do just about anything he wants. But that’s not the type of character Kayce Dutton is, nor is it the type of story that Y: Marshals wants to tell. There’s a reason that the network has recruited former SEAL Team showrunner Spencer Hudnut to lead the charge, and the show will certainly benefit from his experience on that series here. Could we see more about Kayce’s background as a SEAL? Will the show dig deeper into the tensions between duty and family? It seems likely, and Hudnut is arguably the better guy to have in charge.

Again, Sheridan is still involved in Y: Marshals from a producing standpoint. It’s unlikely he’s going to let Kayce’s story go anywhere he wouldn’t approve of, and that’s a good thing. But allowing new writers to take a crack at Kayce and his story will allow the character to move out from beyond the Yellowstone shadow, that of both Sheridan and John Dutton, who have largely controlled his destiny to this point. We may finally see other sides of Kayce that the fifth and final season of Yellowstone only teased, and it’s about time. There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Y: Marshals, and knowing that Kayce’s story is going beyond Sheridan’s initial Dutton drama is one of the biggest.