Marshals Boss on Why That Yellowstone Character Had to Die

Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) is officially on CBS, and a whole lot has changed for the Yellowstone cowboy. 

The first episode of Marshals revealed what many had suspected based on trailers, which pointed to Kelsey Asbille's absence from the cast: Monica Dutton has died, leaving her husband and son adrift in their little corner of the Montana valley that used to be the Dutton ranch. And if that seems cruel after Kayce's very happy ending at the end of Yellowstone, you're right, but TV dramas don't usually start with happy endings. 

The exact details of Monica's death have yet to be revealed (don't worry, they will be), but so far, we know that she died after a battle with cancer. She knew she was dying for long enough to choose her final resting place, and her name was added to the upsettingly long list of indigenous people who got sick due to toxins and poisons from mining in the area. Kayce's having nightmares of the battlefield and struggling to connect with Tate (Brecken Merrill), who isn't really interested in tending to cows and horses. 

When Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), an old war buddy, shows up to ask Kayce to help the U.S. Marshals with a nearby operation, he agrees, which is how he ends up patrolling a protest over a new mine. Tate is even among the protesters, holding up a photo of Monica alongside other members of the reservation. 

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When the rally was attacked and Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) was shot, Kayce joined the Marshals on an action-packed investigation that successfully took down some mercenaries and saved a couple of hostages. Rainwater survived, and Kayce visited Monica's grave before begrudgingly agreeing to become a full-time Marshal. He now joins a misfit team of crimefighters  — Cal, Belle (Arielle Kebbel), Andrea (Ash Santos), and Miles (Tatanka Means) — and embarks on a "new path" for the Dutton family. 

Executive producer Spencer Hudnut, who formerly ran the show SEAL Team, explained to TV Guide why they had to blow up Kayce's life and how Monica's death was not taken lightly. 

What was the first thing you had to figure out when putting Marshals together? Was it Monica's death?

Spencer Hudnut: The first thing was really figuring out what's the right vehicle for Kayce. How do you get him back into it? The idea we knew we had was that we were going to take Kayce Dutton and put him into a CBS show, so the hardest part was figuring out what that was going to be. And I give credit to Taylor Sheridan for helping me figure that part out. I think Kayce had such a great ending in Yellowstone, and really, for the first time, he had everything he wanted. Monica even referenced it. It was like a dream come true. And when I first talked to Luke, he was like, "Who wants to watch a show about Kayce being happy? That's pretty boring." We knew we were going to have to flip his world somehow… The who wasn't dictated by a creative decision. I had the ingredients in front of me to bake the cake with. When it was clear that it was going to be Monica, we really wanted to try and honor that character and not exploit her death. I still think they have a beautiful ending at the end of Yellowstone. It's just unfortunate that real life intervened. I think she's guiding Kayce throughout, to find his new path. That relationship will never be over. Monica is such a part of Kayce Dutton that she will be with him for however long this show goes on. 

I was going to say that he got such a nice ending that it's a little bit of a bummer to see that it got taken away from him. 

Hudnut: It's funny, because we started working on the show and nobody was telling me how Yellowstone was going to end. We were working on it, and I met with Taylor [Sheridan], and we figured this out, and it was the week before the finale aired. When I watched the finale, I was like, "Goddamnit, that's the perfect ending." He deserved that [ending]. I don't want to mess Kayce up as a Yellowstone fan, but I think the trick is honoring that ending but putting him on a new path. 

Will we see what happened with Monica between the end of Yellowstone and the beginning of Marshals?

Hudnut: We definitely revisit it. I think the first half of the season is Kayce's reluctance to embrace his grief. I think his son Tate is ahead of him. I think he's accepted the loss more than Kayce has, so really, almost every episode in the first six or seven deals with Kayce's grief. I think we'll define what happened with Monica in Episode 6. 

What made you settle on cancer? 

Hudnut: Well, I didn't want it to be violent. I think there was an easy button to hit of oh, something happened to her, and now he needs a badge to go hunt down whoever did it. I don't believe that Kayce would need a badge to go do something like that. He would just go do it. But it also felt like we'd be exploiting it. It was also using Monica's death as a way to also shine a spotlight on a real issue, which is the high cancer rate on reservations. Her death was allowing us to highlight a real issue, and that's why Tate's at the rally, and Kayce goes to the rally to protect Tate, so she is guiding that journey. It felt like an opportunity to not only say goodbye to a great Yellowstone character but to give it a little more meaning and more substance if it actually raises a true issue that needs fixing. 

Another real life issue is with federal agencies in this political climate. How are you approaching that aspect? 

Hudnut: I think what we're trying to do is tell a story [where] the type of badge it is doesn't matter. It's about first responders and people who are willing to run into the fire for the greater good and the consequences of that. People who are doing things the right way and who, ideally, are the best of us. We're not really getting into political topics or anything like that. I understand why people are interested in that, but I think watching this show, you're really watching a group of people who are doing this job for the best reasons and who are willing to do whatever it takes to get justice. The message is like, "Look what can happen when we all pull in the same direction." 

How are you handling the relationships between the citizens and the marshals? They don't seem particularly welcome by most people, and there's a moment in an upcoming episode where someone says to them, "Nothing was violent until you guys got here." 

Hudnut: I think what's really interesting is that the battleground for these marshals is literally their backyard. So as much as they are protecting their neighbors, they are, at times, also in conflict with them. So what does that do? I think that's something this country is dealing with right now. Resignation rates in law enforcement are way up, and it takes a mental toll on people. I think that's a challenge. How do you go home from a crime scene where you witness something horrific or traumatic, and you're home in 15 minutes, as opposed to a Navy SEAL who has three days to get home and has some time to actually deal with that. The immediacy of the trauma and the bloodshed is something that we're exploring here. These episodes aren't so much about the crimes. It's what the crimes do to our people that we really want to get under the hood with.

Do you have a writers room for this show? I know Taylor wrote all the Yellowstone scripts himself. 

Hudnut: Yeah, I have no idea how he did that. I desperately need people to help me do this. We have a great writers room. There were six or seven of us for Season 1. I also have Lenny DePaul, who's a former U.S. Marshal, as our consultant. [He] really helped us ground these stories and make them feel authentic. Having come from SEAL Team where I always had Navy SEALs in the room with us, I'm trying to replicate that. 

For more of Hudnut's interview (including how Kayce's murderous Yellowstone past will come back to haunt him), check in after next week's all new episode, Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.