Marshals premiere: Why did Kelsey Asbille leave, Monica Dutton die?
Now that we have had a chance to see the entirety of the premiere of Marshals on CBS, we have an answer to the big Kelsey Asbille question. Why is she not appearing as Monica Dutton and beyond that, why did the character have to die?
Well, as it turns out, the reality of the situation is not that difficult or controversial — it just so turns out that the actress was unavailable to reprise her role on the Yellowstone spin-off.
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In a new piece at The Hollywood Reporter, it was made clear that showrunner Spencer Hudnut, alongside executive producer Taylor Sheridan and Paramount as a whole, went through a lot of possibilities for the new show. However, it was eventually made clear that Asbille (who has booked a number of feature films since the original series ended) would not be able to return. That caused them to create a plan:
“When that happened, it cleared up what that thing was for Kayce … It wasn’t like Luke and I were sitting there saying, ‘We should kill Monica.’ It was more like, ‘If she’s not available for this, then what’s the best way to move on from that character in the least exploitive way?’”
Kelsey herself has yet to speak out on her absence from Marshals, so the reason for her unavailability remains unclear. It could be argued that she wanted to pursue other opportunities, but it is equally possible that her already-booked roles caused her to simply not have room in her schedule. Because network dramas have a pretty exact filming schedule, this left everyone in a difficult spot. In the end, it does feel like Monica will at least have a spiritual presence on the show, but we appreciate that her death was due to something simple in cancer and not another elaborate murder mystery.
Related – Learn more now about what is coming up next on Marshals
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