Why Did Marshals Open Season 2 as TV's Top Scripted Show When Critics Gave Season 1 Only 48%? 8.2 Million Viewers, No Season 3 Yet, Episode 4 on Oct. 25 and Why I Think Rotten Tomatoes Tells Only Half the Story

Here's a mismatch I can't stop thinking about: 48 and 19.3 million. The first is the share of critics who liked Marshals Season 1 on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews as Forbes counted them. The second is the average audience CBS says each Season 1 episode drew across 35 days of multiplatform viewing. Same show, two verdicts that barely seem to belong to the same planet.

Season 2 started on Oct. 4 and the pattern held. CBS says the premiere drew 8.2 million viewers, and it was the No. 1 scripted series on TV that week. CBS hasn't ordered a third season yet. Episode 4, "Blast Radius," airs Sunday, Oct. 25.

This isn't a review. I'm reading the numbers and the reviews, not grading the episodes. What I'm after is a better question than "is it good?": who is each scoreboard actually measuring? Below you'll get both scoreboards, the Sunday-night details, a catch-up path finder and where I land.

Is Marshals a hit? Critics say 48%, CBS says 19.3 million viewers: the two scoreboards

Most "hit or flop" arguments mix up two different kinds of numbers. One kind asks how people judged the show. The other asks how many people showed up. I put them side by side, with who measured what, so you can see how far apart they sit.

Two caveats before anyone quotes these in an argument. First, Rotten Tomatoes scores drift as reviews and ratings come in. Its Season 1 page showed 44% from 18 reviews and 29% from 250-plus ratings earlier, so treat 48% and 28% as a snapshot. Second, "multiplatform" counts streaming as well as live TV, so 19.3 million isn't directly comparable to a same-night figure like 8.2 million. I left the two panels without a shared scale on purpose.

Even so, the gap is the story. For context, ScreenRant reported that Season 1's 28% audience score was the lowest of any Taylor Sheridan-produced series on Rotten Tomatoes, and Collider describes Marshals as the franchise's lowest-rated entry on the site. Yet CBS ranks it as the No. 1 broadcast series of the 2025-26 season.

What time is Marshals on, and how do you watch Episode 4? The Sunday-night card

If you're just here for logistics, this is the part to screenshot.

As for what's coming, CBS's description of "Blast Radius" says Kayce and Andrea's off-hours fugitive hunt leads to a notorious bomber who once slipped past Cal, while threats against Belle move close to home and Miles keeps something about Cal's cancer from Maddie. That last thread is the one I'd watch. A diagnosis plus an old failure is exactly the kind of combination that can make a procedural feel personal.

Why do so many people watch Marshals if critics don't like it? Five reasons both numbers can be true

I tagged each reason by where it comes from, so you can tell reporting from my own reading.

1. It's the first Yellowstone spinoff on broadcast TV.Reported

   Curiosity alone moves numbers. The series premiere drew 9.52 million viewers on Nielsen's live-plus-same-day count, the biggest scripted premiere without a football lead-in on CBS since FBI in 2018, per TV Insider. Variety reported the same 9.5 million.

2. Broadcast still has enormous reach.Reported

   TV Insider notes that in the week of Oct. 4-10, only two of the ten most-watched broadcast shows weren't CBS titles. CBR reports that Marshals' 8.2 million was second only to 60 Minutes, at 10.2 million, among all programs that week.

3. Sunday night wants comfort, not layers.My read

   In a review listed on Rotten Tomatoes, Forbes called Season 2 "cheap popcorn fare" without Yellowstone's layers or character work, and scored it 6.5 out of 10. That's a fair description of a critics' complaint. It's also a decent description of a lot of shows people love on a Sunday evening.

4. It may not be the same crowd as Dutton Ranch.Reported

   Forbes floats that viewers who followed Yellowstone into Sheridan's other shows may differ from the ones tuning in here, noting Sheridan didn't write Marshals and has stayed mostly in the background. Creator Spencer Hudnut runs the show.

5. Streaming stacks on top of the live audience.Reported

   CBS says the premiere hit 20.6 million viewers within a week, while the live-plus-same-day figure was 9.52 million. The first night captured less than half of that total, though the two numbers use different measurement setups, so I'd treat that as a rough guide.

Where does Marshals Season 2 stand, and how many episodes are there?

Three episodes have aired and two are next. Episode summaries below come from CBS descriptions as relayed by TV Insider and episode guides.

• Ep 1
  "All Hat No Cattle"Oct. 4 · 8.2M viewersKayce realizes his son Tate has been taken hostage and goes rogue to get him back, while the Marshals dig into a criminal operation tied to the East Camp land grab.
• Ep 2
  "End of Watch"Oct. 11A former cop starts a killing spree against people he blames for wrecking his career, and one of the Marshals ends up in his sights.
• Ep 3
  "Falling Sky"Oct. 18A military test drone is shot down over the Broken Rock reservation, and tension builds between federal authorities and tribal leadership.
• Ep 4
  "Blast Radius"Sun., Oct. 25 · next upAn old bomber case resurfaces for Cal, and threats against Belle hit close to home.
• Ep 5
  "Secret Weapon"Sun., Nov. 1After a close call with a suicide bomber, the Marshals hunt for a co-conspirator with a larger explosive.

How many episodes is Marshals Season 2?

Season 1 had 13 episodes, running from March 1 to May 24. For Season 2, the only count I can trace to someone involved in the show is 20. Logan Marshall-Green, who plays Cal, told ScreenRant "we got 20 episodes," and Wikipedia's page lists 20 too. I didn't find a full order or finale date published by CBS, and some listing sites show other totals, so I'd treat 20 as the star's number, not CBS's.

What are early reviews saying about Season 2?

Early critics are warmer on the follow-up, though the sample is small. Collider's Michael John Petty praised Season 2 for not repeating Season 1's mistakes, and a reviewer for Clarín wrote that it can be followed without having seen the original series. Forbes sat in the middle at 6.5 out of 10. When I checked, Rotten Tomatoes had only a handful of critic reviews for Season 2, so there's no meaningful score to cite yet.

Do you need to watch Yellowstone or Marshals Season 1 first? Pick your path

This is the most-searched question about the show, and the honest answer depends on who you are. Tap the one that sounds like you.

Has Marshals been renewed for Season 3? What's confirmed and what Luke Grimes said

Not as of Oct. 24. CBS ordered Season 2 on March 12, after only two Season 1 episodes had aired, so the quick pickup last time is why people are asking now. Grimes told ScreenRant he hasn't heard anything yet and noted that last season's pickup came very fast, so he doesn't know what to expect.

TV Insider calls a renewal likely given the viewership, and ScreenRant says it seems like a matter of when. Both are reasonable reads, but they're predictions, not announcements. My read: silence this early, three weeks into the season, isn't a signal in either direction.

My take: why the Rotten Tomatoes number is only half the story, and the case against me

I read that 28% audience score as a mood, not a verdict. Roughly 500 raters sit next to 19.3 million viewers. That doesn't make the raters wrong, but it does mean they're a small, self-selected slice, and they tend to be the people with the strongest feelings.

There's also a history here. Yellowstone's own first season sits at 58% with critics but 82% with audiences, according to ScreenRant. In this franchise, viewers have a habit of out-voting reviewers. Marshals just does it with the volume turned way up.

But the critics aren't wrong about what they saw. Season 1 is repeatedly described as a procedural that holds Kayce in place, and Forbes' take on Season 2 sounds like the same observation in a friendlier mood. Season 2's opening night also landed below the series premiere's 9.52 million, though it beat the roughly 7 million that Collider says Season 1 averaged on air, and the two aired in different slots. So the number I'm watching isn't the premiere. It's how many people are still there for Episode 8.

Here's the optimistic bit. In a year when everybody keeps saying the audience has scattered into a thousand streaming corners, one of the biggest scripted shows in the country is a broadcast western on a Sunday night, with millions of people watching the same hour. I find that a little lovely, whatever the Tomatometer says. And if you look at what's on the schedule, Cal's diagnosis, Rainwater's political troubles and Kayce's struggle with his son give the writers real material to work with.

The case against me is simple and fair. Popularity isn't quality, premiere numbers are inflated by franchise curiosity, and a 28% score might reflect real disappointment from the Yellowstone diehards CBS most wants to keep. If the Season 2 audience slips steadily, that argument wins. If it holds, mine does.

Marshals questions people keep searching

Is Marshals a hit?

By viewership, yes. CBS says Season 1 averaged 19.3 million viewers over 35 days of multiplatform viewing and was the top broadcast series of 2025-26, and the Season 2 premiere drew 8.2 million, the best of any scripted show that week. Critics were far less enthusiastic.

What is the Rotten Tomatoes score for Marshals?

Per Forbes, Season 1 was at 48% with critics (21 reviews) and 28% with audience raters (500-plus ratings) as of Oct. 11. Earlier readings were a few points different. Season 2 has too few critic reviews for a stable score.

What time is Marshals on?

Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, though CBS has started some episodes at 8:30 p.m. ET on football-heavy nights. Episode 4 on Oct. 25 is listed at 8 p.m.

Where can I stream Marshals?

On Paramount+. Premium subscribers can watch live through their local CBS feed and on demand. Essential subscribers get each episode the next day. Season 1's 13 episodes are on the service too.

How many episodes are in Marshals Season 2?

Marshals star Logan Marshall-Green said 20. I didn't find a full order from CBS, so I'd treat 20 as unconfirmed by the network. Season 1 had 13.

Has Marshals been renewed for Season 3?

Not yet. Luke Grimes said he hasn't heard anything, and CBS hasn't announced a decision.

Do you need to watch Yellowstone before Marshals?

No. A Clarín reviewer wrote that it can be followed without having seen the original series. Marshals is set after Yellowstone ends, and Season 2 picks up Season 1's cliffhangers, so Season 1 helps more than Yellowstone does.

Who stars in Marshals?

Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton, Logan Marshall-Green as Pete "Cal" Calvin, Arielle Kebbel as Belle Skinner, Ash Santos as Andrea Cruz, Tatanka Means as Miles Kittle, Brecken Merrill as Tate Dutton, Gil Birmingham as Thomas Rainwater and Mo Brings Plenty as Mo. Marque Richardson joins Season 2 as Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Burns, per Forbes.

Is Taylor Sheridan involved in Marshals?

He's an executive producer, but the show was created by Spencer Hudnut, and Forbes notes Sheridan didn't write it.