Yellowstone‘s Marshals is breaking data as CBS’ most-watched scripted debut — beating out Justin Hartley‘s hit sequence Tracker.
The community introduced that the sequence premiere of Marshalswhich aired on Sunday, March 1, was considered by 9.52 million viewers, making it the most-watched new scripted sequence premiere and not using a soccer lead-in since 2018.
Marshals was additionally the No. 1 sequence premiere within the 2025-26 broadcast season. CBS’ Sunday evening lineup introduced in 7.21 million viewers for 60 Minutes9.52 million viewers for Marshals8.29 million viewers for Tracker and 4 million viewers for Watson.
Marshals, Tracker and 60 Minutes grew to become the highest three exhibits on TV for the week. Tracker got here in proper behind the Yellowstone spinoff because the No. 2 program — up from its fall common.
In terms of breaking TV data, there isn’t any denying that Justin Hartley is aware of what America needs — simply have a look at his hit present Tracker. Primarily based on Jeffery Deaver‘s novel The By no means Sport, Tracker follows a survivalist named Colter (Hartley) who travels the nation serving to individuals and regulation enforcement sort out quite a lot of mysteries. (…)
Hartley’s Tracker beforehand scored wins for the community following its February 2024 debut, changing into the most-watched broadcast premiere in three years. NCIS’ remaining episode with Mark Harmon held the title in September 2021.
Tracker’s viewership solely elevated from there, with CBS revealing in December 2024 that the sequence averaged 18.2 million viewers per episode, in response to Paramount+ and broadcast measurements.
When the hit CBS sequence returned later in 2024 for its second season, it introduced in 8.3 million whole viewers, going up practically 10 p.c from the season 1 finale. The season 2 premiere additionally marked the present’s highest viewers for the reason that sequence debuted after the Tremendous Bowl.
Tracker was the 2023-24 TV season’s most-watched leisure sequence, rating because the No. 1 present since Survivor premiered in 2000. Selection beforehand reported in 2024 that 15 of the slots on its annual record of the yr’s 100 most-watched primetime telecasts belonged to Tracker. The subsequent yr, Tracker scored 19 episodes on the yr’s prime 100 primetime telecasts, which was greater than something outdoors of the NFL.
Since Yellowstone debuted in 2018, the story of the Dutton household has had sufficient potential to encourage six spinoffs (and counting) so as to add to the Paramount Community roster — however with that has come delays. Yellowstone focuses on a robust household that runs the biggest contiguous ranch in the USA. Amid their success, the (…)
Marshals, in the meantime, is a by-product of Yellowstonewhich aired from 2018 to 2024. It launched Us to Kayce (Luke Grimes) as a former U.S. Navy SEAL who grew to become the brand new proprietor and operator of his household’s Yellowstone Ranch. He offered the property by the finale, however there was nonetheless extra story to inform.
Earlier than the premiere, Grimes, 42, addressed the criticism that Kayce isn’t a Dutton who deserved his personal spinoff.
“I’m my very own worst critic,” he advised Leisure Weekly in February. “I used to be like, ‘In the event you take a ballot of who individuals need to have a by-product, I don’t know if Kayce can be prime of that record. I feel there’s different characters that they might quite see.’”
Grimes used that as motivation, including, “So there was a hearth below me. Like, it must be good. If it’s not good, I’d quite not do it. We tried actually exhausting to be sure that any of the unique Yellowstone followers would have one thing to understand onto.”
He continued: “However in the event you’d by no means seen Yellowstone, we wished this present to make sense by itself as effectively. I feel we completed that as a lot as we probably may.”
Marshals airs on CBS Sundays at 8 p.m. ET, whereas Tracker follows at 9 p.m. ET.