“Marshals”' Ash Santos Breaks Down Andrea’s Difficult Finale Decision and How She's Involved in Season 2 (Exclusive)

Julia MooreMon, May 25, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC

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Ash Santos as Andrea in 'Marshals'
Credit: Fred Hayes/CBS

Warning: this post contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of Marshals.

When Marshals season 1 came to an end on Sunday, May 24, the fate of numerous characters were left up in the air, including that of Andrea (Ash Santos)

Santos tells PEOPLE how she interprets that final episode, teases what's to come in season 2 and reveals how Marshals fulfilled a "big dream" of hers

"I just very much already felt like it was mine," she says of her audition for the role of Andrea

Andrea is at a crossroads as Marshals season 1 comes to an end.

Ash Santos, who plays a tough federal agent in the CBS series, tells PEOPLE that there's "a lot of doubt" swirling around in character's head during the season 1 finale, which aired on Sunday, May 24, and saw Andrea accept the Washington D.C. job that she's been wanting all season.

"It's that thing of, when you finally get what you've been wanting, do you still want it?" Santos, 32, says. This season she was kidnapped, then after striking up a romance with Garrett (Riley Green), he dies shortly after. "There's a lot she's going through," Santos says of Andrea. "As much as she tries to make it seem like she's not really fazed."

Still, "there's a lot of doubt for her, because there's a lot that she didn't realize she fell in love with here in Montana that she doesn't know if she's really ready to walk away from."

Santos teases that in the beginning of season 2, "we'll really start to see the cracks in her."

Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton, Ash Santos as Andrea in 'Marshals'
Credit: Fred Hayes/CBS

How much of a role Andrea will play in the upcoming installment, Santos cannot exactly say. "She definitely cares about her team. She's there in spirit."

"But season 2, I think we'll start to see a side of Andrea that's almost opposite to how we met her in season 1," she teases. "That's what's been really interesting to me."

Playing Andrea fulfilled a "big dream" for the actress and mom of two. "It's been a big blessing in my life," she says.

"I really wanted not just a show, but especially a Taylor Sheridan show," Santos explains. "When the audition came my way, I felt like I was already so similar on paper to Andrea. It was one of those that doesn't come around very often, where you feel like, 'Okay, if I don't get this, then I must be crazy.' I just very much already felt like it was mine."

Like her character, Santos is from the Bronx and her father is a cop. "We very much say what we think. We don't really care about ruffling feathers. We take a lot of joy in that, almost. And we're both kind of underdogs. People underestimate us."

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Ash Santos
Credit: Tiziano Lugli

What she was admittedly not "ready for" was the "physicality" required. "I didn't know that I'd be as good at it as I am, so that's been fun. It's given me a lot of confidence and shown me this other side to acting," Santos says. "Andrea has a lot of physical prowess that's been really fun for me."

At the time of her PEOPLE interview, she is fresh off a week-long military training bootcamp in Utah before production begins on season 2. "We added someone else to the fight coordinating team who just came from Lioness, and he's a former Green Beret," she says. "We have a former Navy SEAL. Everything is very technical. It's military-style training, which is what Marshals in real life do. It's a lot."

Despite the physical demands, Santos says the cast has "too much fun" on set. "We get yelled at sometimes because we're laughing too much," she reveals of her costars, which include Arielle Kebbel, Logan Marshall-Green and Tatanka Means.

Luke Grimes, who reprises his Yellowstone character Kayce Dutton in the spinoff, couldn't be more "goofy," she reveals. "Luke is a jokester. Luke is constantly giggling, and that was funny because I'm like, you're like the complete opposite of Kayce Dutton."

Off screen, Santos and Grimes, 42, have found themselves fielding questions about the romantic undertone between their characters, which Santos never picked up on herself. "I didn't know it at first. I think Arielle was the first one to point it out to me when we were at our test," she says.

"But that's what I find so interesting about what [showrunner] Spencer [Hudnut] has done, is that it hints at things, but then at times, it doesn't. So it leaves you guessing, which is more exciting to me than the obvious."

Arielle Kebbel as Belle, Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton, Logan Marshall-Green as Pete Calvin, Ash Santos as Andrea, and Tatanka Means as Miles in 'Marshals'
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS

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When asked if she roots for Andrea and Kayce to be together, Santos plays coy: "Oh, I don't know. I think there's so much happening."

"From what I know so far in season 2, so much is being cooked up that we'll just have to see," she says. Adding, "There's so much that I just did not expect at all. I was like, 'Holy s---, that's good.'"

The Marshals season 1 finale is streaming now on Paramount+

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”