CBS’ new “Yellowstone” spinoff series “Marshals” had a wildly popular premiere on Sunday night. The first episode averaged 9.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
This viewership total marks the highest audience for a scripted broadcast series premiere in more than seven years, excluding titles that benefited from airing immediately after NFL games. Previously, that record was held by “FBI: Most Wanted,” “FBI: International,” and “CIA,” the first of what is now a full-fledged series executive produced by Dick Wolf. The “FBI” premiere drew 10.1 million viewers on Sept. 25, 2018.
In addition, the “Marshalls” premiere was the most-watched new series of the 2025-2026 broadcast season and the most-watched program overall for the week of February 23 to March 1. The episode, titled ‘Piya Wikoni’, achieved a 99% retention rate for 30 minutes. This means that the majority of viewers who watched the first half of the episode were also looking forward to the second half.
Before the premiere of “Marshalls” on Sunday at 8 p.m., CBS aired “60 Minutes,” which drew 7.2 million viewers, followed by “Tracker” with 8.3 million viewers and “Watson” with 4 million. (“Tracker” and “60 Minutes” were the next most-watched programs that week.) This was a 171% difference compared to the night’s second most-watched network, ABC (2.7 million average viewers), and a 21% increase compared to the night’s combined viewership for ABC, NBC, and Fox.
“Marshalls” is the first broadcast series of the “Yellowstone” series, which previously aired on Paramount Network and Paramount+. The series, produced by Paramount TV Studios and 101 Studios, stars “Yellowstone” actor Luke Grimes reprising his role as Casey Dutton, who “combines his skills as a cowboy and a Navy SEAL to join an elite unit of U.S. Marshals to bring range justice to Montana.”
