*Marshals* represents a new type of *Yellowstone* spin-off. Rather than being a prequel series tracing the Dutton family lineage through generations of westward migration and land disputes, it is a contemporary series following an actual *Yellowstone* character—Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes), the youngest son of the late patriarch John (Kevin Costner)—beyond the events of the flagship series. And instead of being a streaming series boasting sumptuous period detail and movie stars like Harrison Ford, *Marshals* is a broadcast police procedural drama that bears only a vague family resemblance to *1923*, *1883*, *Yellowstone*, or even other series in executive producer Taylor Sheridan’s extensive portfolio. For starters, *Marshals* is one of the rare Sheridan shows not created by Sheridan himself—a writer notoriously hands-on in the creative process who once claimed to have no idea what a script coordinator actually does. (The series was originally titled *Y: Marshals*, but dropped that expli...
When I think of the word "roommate" and the world of cinema, my mind immediately drifts to the 2011 horror film *The Roommate*, starring Minka Kelly and Leighton Meester. Honestly, they looked absolutely stunning in that movie. But anyway—while this *Roommates* doesn't follow exactly the same tone, it certainly conveys that same unsettling feeling that something isn't quite right, right from the very start. *Roommates* kicks off with two college students arguing because they’ve been terrible roommates to one another. When they are summoned to the dean's office, he offers to tell them a story to make them realize the magnitude of the offense they are committing by trying to hurt each other in front of a whole crowd of people. The story then transports us to the past, and the dean introduces us to the two protagonists of this twist-filled plot: Celeste and Devon. I know—the way I’m framing this, anyone would think it’s a horror movie. But it’s not; it’s a comedy pr...