Another day, another few million bucks for Taylor Sheridan. Hot on the heels of Marshals, his latest Yellowstone spin-off, his inexorable march through the TV schedules continues with this saga of the Clyburn family.
Previously they called New York home, but thanks to a sudden catastrophe they find themselves moving to the huge spaces and epic scenery of Montana's Madison River Valley. You could call it melodrama, and at times it threatens to go the whole hog and turn into soap, but The Madison does have the gift of watchability. It also delivers a hefty jolt of star power, in the shape of lead performers Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, as matriarch Stacy Clyburn and her husband Preston respectively.
The story could be read as Texas-raised Sheridan’s revenge on the snooty, over-privileged poseurs of Manhattan. While Stacy is a big fish in the NYC elite, being the wealthy patron of various charities and a regular guest at the Met Gala (“fashion’s biggest night”), Preston is a country boy at heart. Despite his successful city career, what he loves more than anything is taking long trips out to Montana to stay in the rustic cabin owned by his brother Paul (Matthew Fox), where they spend much of their time seeking out the best fly-fishing spots on the river (pictured below). The area is an unspoiled natural paradise full of deer, elk, bears, eagles and mountains. And trout, of course.
By contrast, Manhattan is the diabolical dog-eat-dog cesspool where his daughter Paige (Elle Chapman) has just been punched in the face and robbed by a mugger, a story she tells as the family have dinner at restaurant. When Preston calls Tracy in the midst of this, she makes a point of going outside to talk to him, chastising her daughters and granddaughters for rudely spending all their time playing with their phones instead of talking to each other.
It’s while Tracy is enjoying a leisurely lunch with her best friend Liliana (Rebecca Spence) and pondering over whether life in the Big Apple is becoming unbearable – “you realise all we ever talk about is leaving?” ponders Tracy – that the roof caves in. She gets a phone call from a Forest Ranger who breaks the news that Preston and his brother have been in a fatal air crash. She’ll have to go out to identify the bodies.
Its culture-clash time as Stacy gathers her two daughters, Abigail (Beau Garrett) and Paige, Paige’s husband Russell (Patrick J Adams) and granddaughters Macy and Bridgette, and they travel way out west. When the grisly funeral details have been attended to, the family head out to the cabin and are aghast at the lack of amenities. The toilet is a hole in the ground and has been infested with hornets, who wreak havoc on Paige’s bottom and sting Russell in the eye. They have to beware of snakes and bears, while the mysterious meat in the freezer turns out to be elk. Fifth Avenue it ain’t.
But even though tempers fray enough for the two daughters to have a flat-out punch up which finds them rolling around on the floor, Stacy finds herself undergoing a transformation. Though she’s ravaged by grief, the epic landscapes and unpolluted air begin to work a restorative magic, and when she finds her husband’s diary describing his feelings about life, love and everything, she begins to see her life in a different light. And, never having visited the cabin before, it occurs to her that she’s missed out on an entire dimension of their relationship. With a steely glint in her eye, she declares that this is where she belongs, and this where she’s gonna stay. Hell yeah.
It also helps that the natives are friendly. A neighbour called Cade (Kevin Zegers) drives up in his truck with a load of home-made food for the visitors, figuring that they might be feeling a little lost and disorientated. One of the dishes is Indian tacos, which prompts young granddaughter Macy to proclaim “you can’t say that, it’s racist!”(cue rolled eyes from Stacy). “That’s what the Indians call ‘em,” replies Cade, oblivious to East Coast luxury beliefs, DEI etc.
Further possibilities beckon when Abigail meets handsome local police chief Van Davis (Ben Schnetzer), who gives her an exciting ride in his police station wagon with all sirens and flashers blazing (Abigail and Van pictured above). He’s the strong, silent type who addresses the ladies as “ma’am”, and she finds this very appealing. Where will it all end, eh?
Episodes 1-3 of The Madison are streaming on Paramount+. Episodes 4-6 follow on 21 March 2026
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