Fans divided as new Yellowstone spinoff kills | TV Shows

Marshals, the latest spinoff sequence of Taylor Sheridan’s widespread western drama Yellowstone, premiered on Sunday, March 1, with one character killed off before the first episode.

Yellowstone ran from 2018 to 2024 and has spawned two prequel sequence, 1883 and 1923. The latest spin-off follows Kayce Dutton, reprised by Luke Grimes, who joins an elite workforce of U.S. Marshals led by Logan Marshall-Green’s Pete Calvin.

Luke’s spouse, Monica, performed by Kelsey Asbille, was noticeably absent from the premiere episode after being identified with cancer from toxins dumped onto the Broken Rock reservation in Yellowstone. Monica is revealed to have died before the occasions of Marshals, leaving followers divided about her off-screen demise.

Fans who tuned in for the premiere episode had been shocked by how Monica was written out of the show, despite not being a widespread character. In 2022, Yellowstone star Kevin Costner requested followers on Instagram what they needed to see in the ultimate season of the favored cowboy drama, and many called for Monica to be killed off.

Adding to the controversy, while the character was Native American, the 34-year-old actress who performed her in the show claimed to be of Eastern Band Cherokee descent, though the tribe said it has no document of her as a descendant.

In the episode, Kayce visits his spouse’s grave and says, “the best part of me died of you,” implying that she succumbed to her sickness before the occasions of the sequence, though the main points of her death are never explicitly said in the premiere episode.

Some followers weren’t happy by the character’s off-screen death, with one writing on X, “Marshals killing off Monica b4 the show even starts is kinda crazy.” Others chimed in with feedback like, “WHY DID THEY HAVE TO KILL OFF MONICA,” and “why did they kill Monica Dutton off?!?!”

Another delivered a scathing critique of the latest installment in the Yellowstone franchise, writing, “Taylor Sheridan really turned the most epic family saga of our generation into NCIS: Montana. A 43% for Marshals is heartbreaking but honestly expected when you kill off Monica off-screen and make Kayce a ‘Case of the Week’ guy. We wanted the ranch, not a desk job!”

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Some viewers did not appear to have an issue with the controversial character’s departure, with one writing, “Not sad to see Monica go.”

When it comes to Monica’s death, sequence creator Spencer Hudnut explained to TV Insider, “Are we going to make a show about a guy who’s really happy? We had to shake up his life.”

The showrunner added, “We’re shining a light on an issue. She passes because of cancer,” noting that “Reservations have a high rate of cancer because of all the toxins that have been dumped on them.”

Despite followers’ blended emotions about Monica as a character, Spencer said, “We wanted to make her death about a bigger issue. We wanted to be very respectful of that character.”

New episodes of Marshals air on Sundays at 8 PM EST on CBS and can be found to stream on Paramount+.