AceShowbiz - Note: This article contains spoilers for Marshals Episode 1.

During the filming of the extended final episode of Yellowstone, actor Luke Grimes was approached with an unexpected opportunity that would extend his connection to the beloved character Kayce Dutton.

Grimes portrays Kayce Dutton, the son of John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner), who is a powerful Montana landowner fiercely protective of his family’s legacy in Taylor Sheridan’s acclaimed western drama. Yellowstone has become the most-watched show on traditional television despite airing on Paramount Network, a channel better known for reality series like Bar Rescue and movie marathons. However, in its later seasons, the show faced offscreen turmoil, including the departure of its lead star Costner, which cast uncertainty over the series’ conclusion.

The proposal for Grimes was to star in a spinoff focused on Kayce’s next chapter—a transition from the rugged Montana ranch life into a new role within an elite U.S. Marshals unit. This marked a dramatic shift from Kayce’s background as a former Navy SEAL and livestock agent to a procedural action series on a broadcast network. The idea promised to deepen the exploration of a character audiences had grown attached to.

Initially, Grimes was hesitant. “I actually didn’t think it would be a great idea,” he said, citing the mental space he was in during the final Yellowstone episode and feeling that Kayce’s story had reached a satisfying conclusion.

At the end of Yellowstone, Kayce had found peace with his wife Monica (played by Kelsey Asbille), a member of the local indigenous tribe, and their young son, settling on a modest piece of land. “He got what he wanted,” Grimes explained. “With Kayce’s story, they landed the plane perfectly.”

The shift to an entirely different genre—moving from a western drama to a procedural law enforcement show—seemed like too much of a departure for Grimes. “Usually when you have a spinoff, it’s at least the same tone or format. I’d never heard of taking a character from one show and putting them in a completely different style of show because it had never been done,” he noted.

His social media at the time reflected this sentiment. Following Yellowstone’s finale, Grimes posted a farewell message to Kayce on Instagram, where he has 1.3 million followers: “End of an era. Goodbye Kayce. You are a better man than I. To my ‘Yellowstone’ family, thank you for the experience of a lifetime.”

But after the final episode aired, Grimes began to reconsider. Reflecting on his own life and his role as a father, he wondered if revisiting Kayce’s journey might be worthwhile.

Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone, encouraged Grimes to speak with Spencer Hudnut, the showrunner and creator of the new spinoff. Hudnut had a strong background as a producer on the military drama SEAL Team, which ran for seven seasons and 114 episodes across CBS and Paramount+. Sheridan vouched for Hudnut’s talents but left the final decision to Grimes, saying, “I’m not telling you to do it and I’m not telling you not to do it, but you should definitely talk to him and go from there.” This marked the first Yellowstone installment not directly overseen by Sheridan himself.

That conversation with Sheridan reassured Grimes that the project had genuine creative merit. “I felt like I had Taylor’s blessing, but also that he wouldn’t lie to me or just try to get me to do something for the money,” Grimes said.

When Grimes met Hudnut, he was introduced to the premise and the major narrative shift: Kayce’s wife Monica would die. This dark turn was the catalyst for the show’s procedural format, enabling the new series to explore Kayce’s grief and transformation through episodic missions as a U.S. Marshal.

“When I realized the procedural format could be a really cool way to tell an action story about a marshal team doing different missions every week, that made a lot more sense to me,” Grimes explained.

Grimes was also adamant about maintaining the visual essence of Yellowstone in Marshals. Concerned about a jarring tonal shift, he inquired if the new show would preserve the look and feel of its predecessor. He was assured it would follow the same visual style. In fact, Marshals was filmed on many of the same locations and soundstages used during the early seasons of Yellowstone. “It was crazy to be back on that set day one, in the same costume from eight years prior, but surrounded by new characters and crew. It felt like a weird fever dream,” Grimes recalled.

Another motivating factor for Grimes was the chance to broaden Kayce’s character. Fans frequently requested to see Kayce fully embrace his Navy SEAL background, an aspect seldom explored in Yellowstone. Grimes saw Marshals as an opportunity to “give the people what they want.”

Gradually, Grimes’s initial refusal softened into interest. What once felt like a daunting leap became an intriguing new adventure for both actor and character.

However, moving forward without Kelsey Asbille as Monica was a difficult adjustment. The spinoff acknowledges Monica’s absence early on, revealing that she was poisoned by contaminated water on the reservation.

“When I first heard the idea, I was heartbroken because Kayce’s whole arc is Monica. They come as a pair. It was almost like a Romeo and Juliet-type love story throughout the whole thing,” Grimes said. “But I also realized it was the only way for the show to work, because otherwise, why would he leave this dream life to pick up a badge again?”

This is a critical plot point. At the end of Yellowstone, Kayce famously threw his badge away, symbolizing his desire to leave law enforcement behind. “I can’t put it back on,” Grimes emphasized. “But losing Monica leaves him no choice but to completely change his life. Everything about the ranch and his home now reminds him of her. Joining the marshal team is the only way to get out of his head and his sorrow.”

Early in Marshals, a returning Yellowstone cast member, Gil Birmingham, reprises his role as Rainwater. He tells Kayce, “You’re not a killer, you’re a protector.” Grimes interprets this as Kayce’s way of honoring Monica’s memory by protecting the reservation and serving his community.

Even after committing to Marshals, Grimes acknowledges his anxieties, especially regarding maintaining the tone and style that fans associate with Yellowstone. “It wasn’t going to be Taylor’s voice anymore or Taylor’s words, and that was clearly Yellowstone’s,” he said. He praised Sheridan as “one of the best writers of his entire generation” and described Marshals as a blend of Hudnut’s vision, new characters, and familiar faces from Yellowstone like Kayce and Rainwater.

As Marshals embarks on its run, Grimes is poised to explore the depths of Kayce Dutton’s life beyond the ranch, confronting loss and finding a new purpose within the demanding world of law enforcement.