Yellowstone spin-off Marshals reveals shocking fate for Dutton family member in premiere

*Warning - contains spoilers for Marshals episode 1.*

The original Yellowstone series may have come to an end in 2024, but the franchise continues on apace, with new spin-off and sequel series Marshals having now debuted on Paramount+.

The new series sees Luke Grimes return as his character Kayce Dutton, who has left the Yellowstone Ranch behind him and has joined an elite unit of US Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL.

The synopsis for the series teases that Kayce and his teammates must balance "family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defence in the region’s war on violence".

That family element was out in full force in the premiere episode, which has now been released, as it was revealed that Kayce is now raising his son Tate, played by Brecken Merrill, as a single father.

That's right, as many fans had predicted based on the show's trailer, Kayce's wife Monica, who was played by Kelsey Asbille in all five seasons of Yellowstone, has died.

The character suffered a traumatic brain injury in the very first season of Yellowstone, but in Marshals she was revealed to have died as a result of cancer due to the toxicity on the reservation.

Throughout the episode, Kayce grappled with the fact that Monica was "better at all this" when it came to raising their son, adding that "the only thing more cruel than losing a parent, is losing the wrong one".

While a couple of other returning stars join Grimes and Merrill in the spin-off, in the form of Mo Brings Plenty and Gil Birmingham, the cast is mostly made up of newcomers including Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos and Tatanka Means.

This isn't the first time the Yellowstone franchise has killed off a key player off-screen - the same happened to Kevin Costner's John Dutton at the start of the final batch of episodes of the main show.

While other series are in development, there is currently only one other Yellowstone spin-off officially on the way, in the form of The Dutton Ranch, starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser.

The Madison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, was originally reported to be set in the Yellowstone universe, but it now turns out that is not the case.

Marshals airs new episodes weekly on Mondays on Paramount+.

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