Yellowstone‘s Luke Grimes and Marshals showrunner Spencer Hudnut stood by their decision to kill off Kelsey Asbille‘s Monica.
“The way that Yellowstone ended for Kayce was literally he rode off into the sunset,” Grimes, 42, told Entertainment Weekly after the Sunday, March 1, premiere confirmed the shocking death. “Obviously, we can’t just watch this guy have his dream life. There’s no drama.”
Grimes defended the need for a narrative shakeup.
“Something’s gonna have to happen that gets in the way of him having that,” he continued. “Otherwise, why is he gonna take a badge? The last time we saw him, he was throwing a badge in a field. Is he gonna go pick it up?”
Signs That ‘Yellowstone’ Spinoff ‘Marshals’ Hinted at Monica’s Death
In the series premiere, it was confirmed that Monica got cancer as a result of toxins dumped onto the Broken Rock reservation.
“It was important to try to honor that character,” Hudnut explained to EW. “And also to use her passing as a way to shine a spotlight on a real issue that reservations are facing.”
He continued: “She passed, which is why Tate wanted to go to the rally, which is why Kayce goes to the rally. And so she really is guiding his journey,” he says. “Her presence and spirit will remain throughout this series. She’s such a huge part of who Kayce Dutton is that she will be with him along the way.”
Grimes, meanwhile, called the development a surprise, adding, “I was not at all expecting that when I got the call that that’s their idea. And I felt two things simultaneously. One was I was incredibly bummed because Kelsey’s one of my really good friends and the coolest actor I’ve ever worked with. We’re really close, and for a while I couldn’t imagine doing it without her. I was like, ‘That doesn’t even make sense. Kayce and Monica are the same thing. They’re one.’ But I also realized, well, there’s a big story there.”
In a separate interview, Hudnut hinted that Asbille could reprise her role — in a hallucination or a flashback.
“I don’t want to guarantee anything, but it’s definitely not off the table,” Hudnut told TVLine. “I think it would be really satisfying to see them back together … I’ve worked on another show where we may have brought back a deceased spouse [including S.W.A.T].”
According to the official synopsis, Marshals 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 leading up to the premiere showed Kayce discussing new beginnings, skeletons in his closet and past trauma — while Monica was nowhere to be found.
What Does Monica’s Absence From ‘Yellowstone’ Spinoff Mean? Drama Explained
“We definitely wanted to make sure to give it a real story and make it interesting and make it believable,” Grimes told People in June about 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 kind of transition.”
Before Kayce scored a spinoff, Asbille, 34, 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.
Marshals airs on CBS Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
