What does Monica’s absence from the Yellowstone spin-off Marshals mean?

Kayce Dutton gets hers Yellow stone spin-off, but all anyone can talk about is how his wife, Monica, is apparently absent from Marshals.

Yellow stonewhich premiered in 2018, introduced viewers to the fictional Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana. When the series began, Kayce (Luke Grimes) and that of Monica (Kelsey Asbille) marriage played a big role and their relationship continued to explore until the end of the show in 2024.

The fictional couple ended their time on the show still together and raising their son, Tate (Brecken Merrill). Yellow stone fans weren’t ready to let go of their story — and neither was Grimes.

“The last day of filming, I thought it was my last day as Kayce. It was up to me,” Grimes recalled in an interview with People in June. “It was seven years of playing a character that I would never see again, other than having his hat and jacket in my closet. It was probably only three or four months later that everything started to align for the [spinoff].”

Grimes didn’t expect to be so affected by his times as Kayce Dutton comes to an end.

“[It was] It’s a much bigger life moment than I thought,” he noted. “Trying to put this show aside, it was difficult. It was really hard, and I know this is going to sound weird, but it was pretty emotional. In a way, it was like losing a family.

It was even harder to say goodbye to the rest of the cast and crew. “Nobody wanted it to end,” Grimes said. “I don’t think the fans wanted it to end. A lot of us actors didn’t want it to end, and the studio and the network certainly didn’t want it to end.”

Later that year, Kayce was given a second chance to continues its story when CBS ordered a spin-off titled Marshals. Promotional videos showed Kayce front and center, but Monica’s conspicuous absence left viewers perplexed.

Keep scrolling for an explanation of Marshals – including the role Monica may or may not play:

The key players

Yellow stone introduced We to Kayce and Monica, who remained at the center of the show. After initially serving as a teacher at a local school on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, Monica became a professor at Montana State University while facing life with Kayce, who took them back to the Yellowstone Ranch while finding a past divided with daddy John (Kevin Costner).

After John’s death, Kayce, a former US Navy SEAL, became the new owner and operator of the Yellowstone Ranch. Kayce and Monica finished the series alive – and together – before Marshals I came back to them.

The essentials

According to the official synopsis, Marshalspremiering in March 2026, follows Kayce as he abandons “the rancher’s life to join an elite unit” of the U.S. Marshals while “combining his cowboy and Navy SEAL skills to bring 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 war against the region’s violence.”

In addition to Grimes, the show stars Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, Brett Cullen And Logan Marshall Green. Previews showed Kayce discussing new beginnings, skeletons in her closet, and past trauma, but Monica is nowhere to be found.

The first trailer for the series showed a wedding ring on Kayce’s finger, which could hint that he’s still married – or widowed – after the events of Yellow stone series finale. Asbille, for her part, has not been announced as a cast member of Marshals and has yet to break his silence on his future with the franchise.

What was said

Before Yellowstone ended, Asbille spoke out about Monica and Kayce’s future, telling The Hollywood Reporter in November 2024, “Oh, [there are] certainly [hurdles]. I guess that’s part of marriage, the obstacles. It’s just life! But I think they were always an endgame for each other. This is what they have worked so hard for, starting this family, making a home with their son and looking to the future. So I hope they get that peace in the end.

Grimes, meanwhile, showed his support for a spin-off centered on 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.

Since then, the actor has remained largely tight-lipped about how Marshals will discuss his personal life.

“We really wanted to make sure we gave it a true story, made it interesting and believable,” Grimes told People in June about Marshals. “If it was just, ‘Well, he’s happy,’ we’re just going to watch him be happy? That’s not very cool. But I will say this, the idea that was presented to me is very, very good and very interesting and it really engaged me and I think it will appeal to the audience 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 it all pans out. Coming back to it in a new set of circumstances is going to be [a] a kind of transition.

What’s next

Marshals premieres March 1, 2026. Kelly Reilly And Cole Hausermeanwhile, are running their own spin-off titled The Dutton Ranchcentered around Rip and Beth. Paramount is also expected to release The Madison, which will be set in the present day.

6666which will be published on Paramount+, is expected to focus on the Four Sixes Ranch, while the prequel 1944 is still in development in the middle of the creator Taylor Sheridan signing a five-year overall film, television and streaming deal with NBCUniversal. It is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2029, after Sheridan’s TV deal with Paramount – which lasts until 2028 – officially ends.