‘Yellowstone’ spinoff ‘Marshals’ kills off Monica — and fans may be cheering

The first Yellowstone spinoff has made a bold move — and it’s one that longtime fans may actually celebrate.

Spoilers ahead for the series premiere of Marshals, which debuted MSpoilers ahead for the series premiere of Marshals, which debuted March 1 on CBS.arch 1 on CBS.

The new series centers on Kayce Dutton, played by Luke Grimes, as he begins a new chapter following the events of Yellowstone. 

But the premiere wastes no time delivering a shock: his wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), is already dead when the story begins.

Rather than depicting her death on screen, the episode opens with Kayce jolting awake from a nightmare about receiving a frantic call from Monica while he was on a military mission. 

Later, he visits her grave and tells her, “the best part of me died with you.” While the show leaves the exact circumstances of her death unclear, Kayce makes cryptic references to “vengeance.”

In Marshals, Kayce reconnects with his military background and joins an elite US Marshals unit led by his former colleague Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green).

The original series, Yellowstone, created by Taylor Sheridan, aired from 2018 to 2024 and followed the powerful Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Kevin Costner).

Monica had long been one of the show’s most polarising characters. Over the years, some viewers criticised her as inconsistent, overly critical of Kayce’s family and frequently unhappy. 

Online forums were filled with complaints, with one fan writing, “I cannot STAND HER.”

With Monica gone and Kayce now a widower, Marshals appears poised to take the character in a very different direction — one many viewers have wanted for years.