For many people,Yellowstoneis just a beautiful national park. For about15 million people, though, it’s the endlessly dramatic and suspensefulYellowstone, which brought in that many viewers for its season four premiere, not even including streaming; it was the most-watched cable telecast in America since 2017. The show is a surprise hit for the Paramount Network, and even the premiere of its spin-off show,1883, drew in aboutfive million viewerson Paramount Plus. Fans can also see Yellowstone on Blu-ray and DVD as of June 02, 2025, arriving with never-before-seen interviews and extras.
Like the park, theshow is also visually stunning, taking place in the long plains and sparse ranches of modern Montana. It concerns the Dutton family and their ranching and land empire, led by a stern, family-first father (Kevin Costner). With the amount of murder and filial backstabbing in the show, it’s essentially a MontanaSopranos, and is just as beloved as that show was (though with a most likely different demographic).
Monica in Yellowstone
Amongst the violence and suspicions of the show,Kelsey Asbilleappears as Monica, wife of Kayce Dutton, who has a difficult relationship with his land baron father (though every relationship inYellowstoneis difficult). With her thin frame, billowing hair, and warm eyes, she stands out at first from the rest of the series, looking like a supermodel who has walked onto the wrong photo shoot. However, Asbille’s performance is subtly complex and psychologically intricate, and Monica’s struggle throughout the series to protect her family from themselves is consistently engaging and rewarding.
“I feel like she adds a little softness,” Asbille says, and it’s true. She is a smooth circle to the angular brutality on the show, a bright blue in its yellow expanse, but Monica is also wrapped up in the cycles of violence and trauma which simultaneously unites the family and pushes them apart.
I think that they all have this [love], it’s an unconditional love, isn’t it? I’ve said this before, but it’s almost like, “Alright, you screwed up, dinner’s at seven,” you know. I really think that’s true for Monica as well. It’s like, very unconditional in the family. When people start being indifferent, that’s when we need to worry.
Duttons Vs. Duttons (and Everyone Else)
Her relationship with Kayce is indicative of these intertwined feelings of love and hate. “My job is to protect out son, and the best way to do that is to keep him from your father, and to keep him from you,” Monica says in one episode.The couple’s struggleshave often been the emotional heart of the show, so when the ending of season four had Kayce telling Monica, “I saw the end of us,“fan speculationran rampant.
Right, I remember reading that line and looking straight up when we were rehearsing the scenes, and we both got up from the table to see what it was all about. [Taylor Sheridan] did tell us, but I guess I can’t say. But yeah, they’ve really been through it. I think what was really special about the season, and that I really admired about Monica this season was, you know, she’s always been a woman fighting for family, but this time around she’s saying, “Look, I can’t do this. I can’t survive here,” and I really think that Kayce also stepped up at that moment. So, I always have hope for them, I always root for them. We’ll see.
That shocking statement from Kayce stems from a vision quest he had gone on throughout season four, where he went without food and water in order to experience spiritual messages (or hallucinations) akin to the rituals ofsome Native cultures. This was only one of many times in which Native culture was prominently brought back into the show after lying relatively dormant for a couple of seasons. This meant that Monica and her culture were highlighted to a large extent, and the results are fascinating; this is a woman torn between the white landowner Duttons and the Native culture who had that land stolen from them centuries ago.
I think that there’s always been that duality to Monica. She’s always someone who’s living in both worlds. And it’s that balance that’s been really tricky, because when she is on the Dutton ranch, she doesn’t feel connected to her culture and her people, especially raising Tate. I think that is so important, and kind of a source of healing for her and for the family in general. So I’m really glad that we get to step back into that world and look at it as this safe space for healing.
Related:What to Expect in the Second Series of 1883
I think also it’s nice to build that world in a way. Something I creditYellowstonefor always having done is, when you speak to the hearts and minds of people, that is really the power of art in terms of social change. It’s when you’re connecting to our Native audience and our non-Native audience. So I’m really glad that that that was reintroduced. I think what’s cool with the western genre in Yellowstone is that [it puts] those two groups of people in conversation with each other.
Taylor Sheridan and Yellowstone Success
Asbille has worked withYellowstoneand1883creator Taylor Sheridan(who has written or co-written every single episode and directed all the first season) since 2017 when he cast her in thewell-received and dark filmWind River.Since then, practically everything she’s done has been a part of Sheridan’s vision, and Asbille thinks he brings out the best in her.
I feel really lucky, you know, because Taylor is just such a fierce advocate. Sometimes I feel like people believe in me more than I do, and I think that that vote of confidence has really changed my career, and it’s changed my life. We’ve also had a lot of the same cast and crew since whenWind River, we’re really like a traveling circus crew all together, but I think he does that for everyone really, he really empowers you through his belief in you. So I think it’s really been a real blessing in my life.
Asbille neither would’ve guessed nor predictedhow massively popularYellowstonewould be. Yes, it has Kevin Costner, and yes, Sheridan created it, but nobody expected the Paramount Network series to tap into the collective American consciousness quite the way that it did. Part of this might be the show’s more libertarian or sometimes conservative politics, and part of it is certainly its addictive melodrama and bombastic attitude, but a lot of it is the work of the charming cast. Asbille, in particular, has received praise for her performance as Monica, and even after years of playing her, Asbille is still excited about her future (and clothes from her wardrobe she can nab).
Well, I do have a couple of shirts that tie to the wardrobe every now and again. I think also, playing a role going into our fifth season, there’s a part of her that I feel like I naturally can slip into. I think that’s really exciting. I know Kevin [Costner] kind of spoke about this, but I feel like this season really hit different audiences and, and it’s been super exciting to see the response to the season going this way, but I think for us, that’s just really the kind of cherry on top. We’ll keep our heads down and go back to work. And I think that mentality is so important, because, the next season is a new season. It’s a new story, and Monica is human, so she changes and evolves, and so I’m actually really excited to see what the season brings and who she’ll be.
Related:Kevin Costner to Direct and Star in New Western Movie Horizon
Apparently, millions of others are excited as well. The response has astounded her and spooked her a little, but getting to work on the show and having such a great professional family is brilliant enough for her.
It’s really surprising. It really blew me away, and now when you look at the numbers, it’s like, slightly terrifying. So yeah, I’m trying to make heads or tails of it. Really. I’ve never been in this position before. It really is like a family to me, and so I think we are excited to go back to work, and the fact that people are watching like, it’s the cherry on top, and that support has just been so incredibly wonderful.
