Why ‘Yellowstone’ spinoff ‘Marshals’ killed off original character in shocking move

Another Dutton death.

“Yellowstone” actor Luke Grimes is speaking out about the death of his fictional wife in the spinoff show, “Marshals.” 

“I was heartbroken for myself and for [Kelsey Asbille],” Grimes, 42, told TVLine in an interview published Sunday. He added that he “worked up the courage” to call the actress.

“We had a great conversation. In true Kelsey fashion, she handled it like a pro and totally understood.”

Grimes, who played Kayce Dutton in the hit Taylor Sheridan ranch drama “Yellowstone,” stars in its first spinoff, “Marshals.” On Sunday, the series premiere kicked off by revealing that Kayce’s wife, Monica (Asbille), had died offscreen after the events of “Yellowstone.”

Series creator Spencer Hudnut told the outlet that “Yellowstone” gave Kayce and Monica a “beautiful” ending. 

“So when I first met with Luke, he was like, ‘Kayce’s really happy. Are we going to make a show about a guy who’s really happy?’ We had to shake up his life, to get him off the ranch and into a new position.”

However, Hudnut also told The Hollywood Reporter that Asbille was not available to be on “Marshals.”

His contradictory statements made it vague whether her exclusion from the show was due to a scheduling conflict, or a storytelling choice. Page Six reached out for comment. 

The creator said he “wasn’t part of” the conversations around the actress not being part of “Marshals.” 

“I can’t really speak to how or why that played out the way it did. But when that happened, it cleared up what that thing was for Kayce. And I think the way we’ve done it, my goal was to not undermine that journey in ‘Yellowstone;….They did get what they finally wanted, and, unfortunately, life just intervened and disrupted everything that Kayce wanted. So that’s where we find him in Marshals.” 

On the show, Monica dies because of cancer from environmental toxins. 

“It felt like tying her death to a real-life issue that we could shine a little bit of a spotlight on [was right],” Hudnut told the outlet. 

“Our reservations have really high cancer rates, and it’s because of all the terrible things that have been done to them. So that felt like a way to honor that character, and she is kind of guiding Kayce.”

Helmed by Sheridan, “Yellowstone” aired on Paramount from 2018 to 2024. The hit drama was essentially cowboy “Succession,” following the Duttons, including patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his adult children, Kayce, Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley).

Kayce’s wife, Monica, was a prominent side character. 

“Marshals” follows Kayce after the events of “Yellowstone,” as he gets back in touch with his military roots, joining an elite team of US Marshals led by his old pal, Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green). Sheridan still produces the show, but Hudnut is the showrunner. 

To make Asbille’s departure more complicated, her casting was controversial. 

The character was Native American – and Asbille alleged that she shared that background –  but a 2017 Buzzfeed report found no record of it.

Page Six reached out to Asbille for comment.

At the time in 2017, “Suicide Squad” actor Adam Beach even called for a boycott of “Yellowstone” over the drama. 

“What got me jolted by it was that I have a lot of Native female actors that need a job,” he told the outlet. “I immediately called it out.”

In their recent interviews, neither Grimes nor Hudnut addressed whether the controversy over her background impacted the choice to kill off Monica.

She was also an unpopular character among “Yellowstone” fans. 

One critic on Reddit complained, “I just can’t seem to like or even respect Monica,” while another noted, “I cannot STAND HER.” 

A third fan berated her as being “mopey” all the time and playing the “victim a lot.” 

“She’s such a nag, I feel bad saying that as a woman but half of the reason Kayce had no peace was because of her complaining,” another fan noted. 

 “Marshals” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBS.