Photos: MARSHALS Photos Available From PaleyFest NY

The Paley Center for Media continued its annual fall festival, PaleyFest NY, with a celebration of the second season of CBS's hit series Marshals. This year's festival also marks the first year of the PaleyFest Award, celebrating excellence in media, television and entertainment, which is being presented to participating shows.

The program included a red carpet event, an exclusive early screening of episode two, and a conversation with members of the cast and creative team. The red carpet was attended by Luke Grimes ('Kayce Dutton,' Executive Producer), Ash Santos ('U.S. Marshal Andrea Cruz'), Gil Birmingham ('Chief Thomas Rainwater'), Spencer Hudnut (Showrunner and Executive Producer), and Vladimir Duthiers (Featured Host, CBS Mornings) who moderated the post-screening conversation.

Fans of Marshals gathered at the Bennack Theater for a special evening made possible by Citi. The panelists discussed their characters' journeys and teased what's ahead in the second season.

Picking up from the events of season one, which found Grimes's Kayce living with adjusting to life as a widower and raising his son alone, Grimes revealed that 'the thought of doing the show without Monica or Kelsey… it was very daunting at first. I couldn't wrap my head around what that would be like,' but recognized that 'watching people live a happy life is not super dramatic or entertaining.' On the decision to kill off Monica before the first season of Marshals, Hudnut explained that 'we had to put Kayce at rock bottom to get to wear the badge again.'

Reflecting on his return to the Dutton universe, Grimes shared that 'I just remember I really liked Spencer I could tell he was a really intelligent guy and he was passionate about the project' going on to note that 'that was a really big reason why I decided to do the show.' Birmingham said that he felt 'so privileged to be at this place' continuing his character's journey following Yellowstone. He stressed that with 'it's not that Native people don't have the stories…they don't have the funding,' and credited Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan on bringing those stories to light.

Hudnut explained that Marshals builds on the foundation Sheridan established with Yellowstone, saying, 'I think we try to build off the themes that Taylor Sheridan told in Yellowstone.' He described Marshals as 'really character driven,' emphasizing the 'connective tissue that Taylor created,' and noted that everyone from the Yellowstone world has been 'incredibly supportive.'

Santos also reflected on her personal connection to Andrea, recalling, 'When I got the email for this audition, I remember reading the character description and thinking she was more similar to me than any character I'd ever come across.' Having joined the writers' room for a day during Season 1 to observe the process, Santos said she now trusts where the story is headed, sharing, 'I just really trust what's coming next and I don't feel like I need all the pieces,' adding that 'the beauty of [Andrea's] vulnerability has been so nice to discover this season.'

Photo Credit: The Paley Museum