Kayce Dutton is getting his own Yellowstone spinoff, but all anyone can talk about is about how his wife, Monica, is seemingly missing from Y: Marshals.
Yellowstone, which premiered in 2018, introduced viewers to the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. When the show debuted, Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica’s (Kelsey Asbille) marriage played a big role, and their relationship continued to be explored until the show ended in 2024.
The fictional couple ended their time on the show still together and raising their son, Tate (Brecken Merrill). Yellowstone fans weren’t ready to let go of their story — and neither was Grimes.
“On the last day of shooting, I thought it was my last day as Kayce. It was over to me,” Grimes recalled in an interview with People in June. “It was seven years of playing a person that I’ll never see again, except for having his hat and jacket in my closet. It wasn’t until probably three or four months after that that everything started aligning for the [spinoff].”
Everything to Know About Yellowstone’s Kayce Spinoff: Planned Cameos and More
Grimes didn’t expect to be so affected by his time as Kayce Dutton coming to an end.
“[It was] a lot bigger of a life moment than I thought it would be,” he noted. “To try to put that show away, it was hard. It was really hard, and I know this is going to sound weird, but it was sort of emotional. It was like losing a family in a way.”
It was even harder to say goodbye to the rest of the cast and crew. “Nobody wanted it to be over,” Grimes said. “I don’t think the fans wanted it to be over. A lot of us actors kind of didn’t want it to be over, and the studio and network certainly didn’t want it to be over.”
Later that year, Kayce got a second chance to continue his story when CBS ordered a spinoff titled Y: Marshals. Promotional videos have shown Kayce front and center, but Monica’s evident absence has left viewers perplexed.
Keep scrolling for an explanation of Y: Marshals — including the role Monica may or may not play:
The Key Players
Yellowstone introduced Us to Kayce and Monica, who remained at the center of the show. After initially being a teacher at a local school on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, Monica went on to become a professor at Montana State University while weathering life with Kayce, who moved them back to the Yellowstone Ranch while figuring out a past divide with dad John (Kevin Costner).
Following John’s death, Kayce, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, became the new owner and operator of the Yellowstone Ranch. Kayce and Monica ended the show alive — and together — before Y: Marshals checked back in on them.
The Gist
According to the official synopsis, Y: Marshals, which premieres in March 2026, follows Kayce as he leaves “ranching life behind to join an elite unit” of the U.S. Marshals while “combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.”
In addition to Grimes, the show stars Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, Brett Cullen and Logan Marshall Green. The sneak peeks have shown Kayce discussing new beginnings, skeletons in his closet and past trauma, but Monica is nowhere to be found.
The first trailer for the show showed a wedding ring on Kayce’s finger, which could hint that he is still married — or is a widower — following the events of the Yellowstone series finale. Asbille, for her part, hasn’t been announced as a cast member on Y: Marshals yet and hasn’t broken her silence about her future with the franchise.
What Has Been Said
Before Yellowstone came to an end, Asbille weighed in on Monica and Kayce’s future, telling The Hollywood Reporter in November 2024, “Oh, [there are] definitely [hurdles]. That’s I guess part of marriage, the hurdles. That’s just life! But I think they’ve always been endgame for each other. It’s what they’ve been working so hard towards, building this family and making a home with their son and looking forward. So I hope they get that peace in the end.”
Grimes, meanwhile, showed support for a spinoff centered around the fictional couple.
“[Kelsey and I] keep saying that if Taylor calls and it’s something he wants to do and it’s something he wants to write, we would absolutely say yes,” he noted.
The actor has since remained largely tight-lipped about how Y: Marshals will address his personal life.
“We definitely wanted to make sure to give it a real story and make it interesting and make it believable,” Grimes shared in June to People about Y: Marshals. “If it was just like, ‘Well, he’s happy’ — we’re just going to watch him be happy? That’s not very cool. But I’ll say this, the idea that was pitched to me is very, very good and very interesting and it really roped me in and I think it will rope the audience in as well.”
He continued: “There’s going to be some familiar faces. There’s going to be a lot of new faces too, so we’ll see how that all feels. To go back into it in a new set of circumstances is going to be [a] kind of transition.”
Which ‘Yellowstone’ Alums Are — And Aren’t — Returning for ‘Y: Marshals’?
What’s Next
Y: Marshals premieres on March 1, 2026. Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, meanwhile, are leading their own spinoff titled The Dutton Ranch, which is centered around Rip and Beth. Paramount is also expected to release The Madison, which will be set in the present day.
6666, which will be released on Paramount+, is set to focus on the Four Sixes Ranch, while prequel 1944 is still in development amid creator Taylor Sheridan signing a five-year overall deal for film, TV and streaming with NBCUniversal. It is set to begin January 1, 2029, after Sheridan’s TV deal with Paramount — which goes through 2028 — officially ends.
