Former Yellowstone stars have broken their silence on Kelsey Asbille’s character, Monica, being killed off the Marshals spinoff.
Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, which aired from 2018 to 2024, introduced Us to Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica, who remained at the center of the show until the finale. After teaching at a local school on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, Monica went on to become a professor at Montana State University while navigating life with Kayce, who moved them back to the Yellowstone Ranch following his past tension 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 were still together — before Marshals began.
When the series premiered in March 2026, fans were shocked to learn that Monica died after battling cancer.
Yellowstone‘s spinoff Marshals killed off Kelsey Asbille‘s character Monica, but what was the reason for her onscreen death? The Sunday, March 1, episode of Luke Grimes‘ new CBS show revealed that Kayce Dutton’s wife previously died after she got cancer as a result of toxins dumped onto the Broken Rock reservation. Amid a strong reaction […]
“The original conversation was that it has to be something [that happens to Kayce in the series premiere]. There was the thought of, ‘Maybe we find him and he’s just bored because he was protecting his family and was a Navy SEAL, so then actually a calm life is not for him, which is a path,’” Marshals showrunner Spencer Hudnut told The Hollywood Reporter about the motivation behind the new spinoff. “But probably not a satisfying enough path for Kayce. Then, truthfully, as we were trying to figure it out, Monica was not one of the ingredients that was available to me.”
Hudnut clarified that he didn’t speak with Asbille before it was decided that Monica would be written off, adding, “No, I wasn’t part of any of that, so 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.”
He continued: “And I think the way we’ve done it, my goal was to not undermine that journey in Yellowstone because they do have [the dream] — she says, “This is a dream come true” at the end of it. They did achieve that. 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.”
Hudnut also noted that Asbille was “unavailable for the new series,” sharing, “When that happened, it cleared up what that thing was for Kayce [that would drive him].”
“It wasn’t like Luke and I were sitting there saying, ‘We should kill Monica,’” he continued. “It was more like, ‘If she’s not available for this, then what’s the best way to move on from that character in the least exploitive way?’”
Grimes defended the narrative decision, but he wasn’t the only alum to speak out. Keep scrolling to see what the Yellowstone cast has said about Monica’s shocking death:
Luke Grimes
After the series premiere, Luke Grimes called the development a surprise, telling Entertainment Weekly in March 2026, “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.”
Grimes defended the need for a narrative shakeup.
“The way that Yellowstone ended for Kayce was literally he rode off into the sunset. Obviously, we can’t just watch this guy have his dream life. There’s no drama,” he continued. “Something’s gonna have to happen that gets in the way of him having that. 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?”
Mo Brings Plenty
Mo Brings Plenty, who reprised his role as Mo on Marshals, was shocked by Monica’s death.
“Boy. At first, I was like, ‘Why?!’ Because that was our connection to the Duttons,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in March 2026. “There’s always been a connection between the Dutton family and Broken Rock, but Monica was more of a connection. So to lose that, at first, my reaction was like, ‘No.’”
The actor acknowledged that creator Spencer Hudnut had to “tell a story,” saying, “And the blessing of that occurring is that Kayce [Dutton] has to fill that void now. So that connection is still there.”
He continued: “Not just for the fact that Rainwater adopted and took him in as a brother, but I think the warriors that Mo and Kayce are, that brotherhood has always been there, but it’s become even stronger.”
Kelsey Asbille
Luke Grimes revealed in March 2026 that he previously “worked up the courage” to call Kelsey Asbille to tell her about Monica’s onscreen death.
“We had a great conversation,” he told TVLine at the time. “In true Kelsey fashion, she handled it like a pro and totally understood.”
Asbille, for her part, has yet to personally speak out about her character being killed off.