Yellowstone favourite reveals he initially hated shocking decision to kill off popular character - and why he changed his mind

While Kayce Dutton continues his journey in the wake of Yellowstone’s main show coming to an end, there are a lot of changes in the character’s life for audiences – and star Luke Grimes – to deal with.

Most notably, fans were shocked to learn that Kayce’s wife, Monica Dutton, would not be a part of the new spin-off series, Marshals. Kelsey Asbille, who has starred opposite Grimes since the start of Yellowstone, was written out of the latest story with an off-screen death.

Grimes was gutted about the decision when he was first told his long-time co-star would not be with him for this new chapter of Kayce’s life, and he told Radio Times in an exclusive interview exactly what he thought at the time.

He said: "My first gut reaction was, ‘I hate that idea’. It just didn't even compute. There was no Kayce without Monica. That was their whole arc – this Romeo and Juliet love story. They were two halves that made the whole so I couldn't even wrap my head around it at first.

"And then also, personally, Kelsey and I are very close. She's a good friend of mine, and she was there for my whole experience on Yellowstone. I just couldn't imagine doing it without her and being on set without her."

Initial reports suggested scheduling issues got in the way for Asbille, but Grimes now admits that, narratively speaking, it really did make sense for Monica to be out of the picture for Marshals.

"Little by little, I started to realise that they had everything they'd ever wanted. If they were going to be together, and have Tate, the ranch, and that dream life, then there's no more stories to tell," Grimes added. "In that case, we should just leave them alone and let them be happy. So there were only a couple options, really, for removing the possibility of that dream life, and that was the only way to tell a new story."

Thankfully, Asbille gave her blessing for the show to go on without her, and Grimes believes that, as painful as it was to work without her, the death of Monica does give Kayce more depth and sets him on a fascinating path in Marshals.

Read more:

• Luke Grimes reveals "crazy" truth about one of Yellowstone's strangest ongoing mysteries
• Yellowstone spin-off Marshals gets future swiftly confirmed after huge record-breaking premiere

"I realised that's the motivation for everything that follows. That's literally the core of this series: how does a guy get up and dust himself off after losing the most important person in his life and find a new purpose? That's what the whole show is," Grimes concluded.

Without Monica by his side, we’ve seen Kayce embrace a new career helping people in the community and bringing criminals to justice, as well as trying to do right by his son, Tate, as his sole carer. There is no doubt that Monica’s absence has given Kayce greater nuance, and it will be interesting to see how much further that goes for the rest of this season and in Marshals season 2, as well.

Marshals: A Yellowstone Story is available to stream on Paramount+. Sign up to your seven-day Paramount+ free trial.

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