Yellowstone's Monica Replacement Plans Clarified By Stars Amid Fan Reactions

EXCLUSIVE: Marshals stars Luke Grimes and Ash Santos discuss how the fan-favorite pairing of their characters, Kayce Dutton and Andrea Cruz, could be positioned as Kayce's romantic replacement for his late wife, Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille).

Marshals series creator and showrunner Spencer Hudnut killed Monica off-screen. Season 1 began with Kayce and his son, Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), mourning Monica. Asbille's Monica was a popular Yellowstone character, and fans were disappointed that Marshals reversed Kayce and Monica's happy ending in Yellowstone to send Kayce into his new adventures as a US Marshal.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns, Grimes and Santos address the friendship between Kayce and Andrea Cruz, which is growing into a "will-they-or-won't-they" romantic pairing. While not spoiling Kayce and Andrea's trajectory, Grimes agrees that audiences are "meant to feel that way" and that Kayce and Andrea "are really complementary souls." Santos agrees that it's working because it's a TV story that's not seen "very often right now." Read their quotes below:

Luke Grimes: "I think they're not wrong. They're meant to feel that way. I've always loved a "will-they-won't-they" storyline, something that builds a desire within the audience to want something to happen. And honestly, we don't know, like, I don't know where it's going. But definitely, they're kindred souls, and I think the way that we're building that is really beautiful. You don't see it much these days, where they're forming a really amazing friendship first, and it's beyond just some basic attraction. They are really complementary souls with each other."

Ash Santos: "I think that's why it's gaining so much attention is because you're not seeing that very often right now on TV. We fell in love with it first in literature, having characters who it takes so much time to recognize that within each other, and the "will-they-won't-they," people just love seeing that in storytelling. So, I think, honestly, that's why it's gotten such a big response is because you don't really get that anymore. So, it's really fun from Spencer that he's giving that to the fans."

Grimes also described the process of saying goodbye to Monica in Marshals season 1, and how Kayce can now "lay that to rest and maybe try some new things." Read Luke's quote below:

Luke Grimes: "Yeah, that was always the thing I was most worried about doing Marshals was doing it without Kelsey. That's legitimate, I just couldn't wrap my head around Kayce without Monica. The rest of Yellowstone was about people fighting over land, and I just loved my wife. [Chuckles] I had my own thing going on, so I didn't know what that would even look like. But then, once I could wrap my head around the fact that that was going to open all these new storylines up, we just have to make sure we do honor that, and don't try to skip over it or pretend it didn't happen.

That was my favorite part of season 1 was we had this amazing scene where we paid tribute to her death, and this beautiful ceremony, and we were all really actually almost crying, because it was so beautiful. Mo Brings Plenty actually did the ceremony, and included his nephew that had actually passed away. So, it was just this real [honoring]. I didn't have to work at all that day. Everything just came the way that it should have. So, I think we did end up doing that, and we needed to do that. And now, we can lay that to rest and maybe try some new things. But I will say he's still wearing the ring, and Spencer and I have talked about, "When do I take it off? Are we gonna make this a thing, or is it just gonna not be there one day?" So, we're still trying to figure that out."

Marshals has been careful about how Kayce carries Monica's memory. Appropriately, Kayce is in no rush to move on romantically, and he has thrown his energy into righting wrongs as a US Marshal and trying to be a good father to Tate.

A possible love interest for Kayce, Dolly Weaver (Ellyn Jameson), was resolved in Marshals season 2's premiere as her father, Tom Weaver (Chris Mulkey), was revealed to be a villain. With Dolly out of the picture, Andrea is the fans' choice to pair up with Kayce.

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Meanwhile, the chemistry between Kayce and Andrea has been evident, and fans are shipping them as a more logical couple than Kayce and Dolly. Like Kayce, Andrea is a taciturn hero who carries her own scars from her past. Andrea planned to transfer back to Washington DC at the end of Marshals season 1, but she decided to stay in Montana. No doubt, Kayce is part of her reasons, whether Andrea admits it or not.

Marshals' season 2 premiered on October 4 and reaffirmed its status as one of the biggest scripted shows on television, with the season premiere drawing 8.2 million viewers, and 20 million across all platforms, including streaming on Paramount+. Marshals successfully shifting Yellowstone's format into a network procedural has proven the adaptability and continuing appeal of the Western universe Taylor Sheridan created.

Andrea and Kayce's "will-they-or-won't-they" is part of Marshals season 2's formula going forward, and audiences will have to wait and see if the pair become romantic. Things certainly seem to be riding in that direction, but nothing is ever simple in the Yellowstone universe.

New episodes of Marshals premiere on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.