The Madison (Paramount+)
By: Adam Freed
The soul-cleansing power of nature has long been thematically resonant within the works of America’s best writers. About a hundred years ago, Ernest Hemingway wrote a “Big Two-Hearted River” in which his semi-autobiographical protagonist Nick Adams had some of the scar tissue left behind by The Great War washed away in the gentle flow of a knee deep river as he patiently fished for trout. Adams was a restless veteran who had, by the grace of god, survived the atrocities of trench warfare, only to find freeing himself from his struggle an impossibility. That is, until he felt nature’s warm embrace, which, like a balm, washed over his soul and allowed a semblance of peace to take hold. Taking a page from Hemingway, The Madison, the latest series from acclaimed writer and television creator Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Hell or High Water) has set aside the “run and gun” tonality of past projects in favor of an environmentally rooted family drama that, at its best, is as good as anything Sheridan has created. In what could be considered an homage to John Ford (The Searchers, Stagecoach) The Madison is a gorgeously rendered contemporary celebration of the open expanses of the American West, captured in meticulous detail.
Sheridan is no stranger to filling the screens of Paramount+ and CBS with picturesque vistas of vast untamed landscapes, as is the case for his runaway series Yellowstone (2018-2024), in which the heart of Sheridan’s argument focused on the pressing need to defend the rugged landscape against opportunistic developers and those who wished to exploit its infinite beauty. The Madison is a story about a wealthy New York City family forced to reckon with an unthinkable loss in the unfamiliar environs of rugged Montana. While the “fish out of water” nature of the show’s premise may feel familiar, the performance of its veteran star Michelle Pfeiffer (The Fabulous Baker Boys, Dangerous Liaisons) is anything but. Pfeiffer, who plays Stacy Clyburn, the family’s pampered matriarch, is tasked with carrying much of the show’s dramatic weight. In a series that asks so many questions of its audience pertaining to the ways that humanity views grief and those that grieve, it is Michelle Pfeiffer who effortlessly bears the weight of these inquisitions, all while balancing her vapid and wayward adult offspring and a pairing of sheltered grandchildren.
The Madison is mildly hampered by the dramatic shortcomings of a few of its ancillary performers, in addition to a few rather obvious jabs at the stereotypically nearsighted dangers of city life. These minor friction points do not stunt the development of the show’s heartbeat, the nonlinear love affair shared between soulmates Stacy and Preston Clyburn (Kurt Russell). Pfeiffer and Russell (The Thing, Escape from New York) share very few scenes, yet embody an aching need for one another that only long-married couples can truly understand. Nearly as impressive by way of chemistry is the burgeoning relationship the series teases between eldest daughter Abigail Reese and rugged Montana sheriff’s deputy Van Davis. Reese, a recently divorced mother of two, is captured in immaculately broken fashion by Beau Garrett (Firefly Lane, Longmire). Reese’s love interest Van (Ben Schnetzer) embodies the type of rugged masculinity that seems to pepper Taylor Sheridan productions, with the painful twist that he is a recent widower. The spark between the mismatched thirty-somethings is palpable, and is unquestionably the most intriguing b-plot The Madison has to offer. Audiences willing to allow a few episodes for the rugged beauty of Montana to settle into synchronicity with the daunting position in which extended Clyburn family find themselves, will likely appreciate the dramatic entanglements offered within The Madison.
Target Score 8/10 - At its best, Taylor Sheridan’s The Madison is as gorgeous and emotionally provocative as anything the acclaimed show creator has penned. In addition to the undeniable allure of its Montana setting, Michelle Pfeiffer offers a dramatic performance to behold.