Taylor Sheridan shows feature no shortage of star power, and the same can be said of The Madison, as TV’s current golden boy brings Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Patrick J. Adams, Will Arnett, and Matthew Fox together for his latest family drama. Despite the presence of an ensemble cast and heartstrings-pulling story, this series doesn’t captivate quite like Yellowstone, Landman, or even Tulsa King. In fact, the first season goes round in circles to a frustrating degree as it refuses to get out of its generic trappings.
The Clyburn family lives a busy life in New York, but a tragedy sees them head out to the Madison River in Montana to deal with the fallout of the event. Russell plays Preston Clyburn, while Pfeiffer portrays his wife, Stacy, and Fox takes the role of Preston’s brother, Paul. Preston and Stacy’s adult children are Abigail (Beau Garrett) and Paige (Elle Chapman). Paige is married to Russell McIntosh (Adams), while Abigail is divorced with two children, Bridgette (Amiah Miller) and Macy (Alaina Pollack).
The crux of The Madison Season 1 involves the Clyburns handling their trauma, as well as taking stock of how they have been living their own lives in New York City. They come from a family who’s well off financially, but this hasn’t translated into a close bond between them. Some of them are spoiled, while there’s an underlying simmering tension over seemingly nothing that hasn’t ever been addressed. It’s a boiling pot of emotions ready to spill over, and it does, as the Clyburns need to learn how to get out of the rat race to slow down, reconcile, and just be.
In between the drama, there’s lighthearted humor sprinkled throughout the six episodes, as the Clyburns need to rid themselves of city luxuries to experience the great outdoors. This includes learning how to use an outside toilet, dealing with no Wi-Fi, and eating food with gluten. They also meet their friendly neighbors, whom they’re distrusting of at first, because who does something out of kindness for anyone nowadays without expecting something in return?
While the emotional highs and lows of The Madison hit anyone who has lost someone close to them and tries to move on, not a lot happens in this first season. The series telegraphs its biggest “shock,” and every plot move plays out exactly as one would have expected it. There are also way too many scenes that try to be overly sentimental – think Mufasa’s speeches from The Lion King – but lack the nuance or delicacy to be anything other than surface-level.
A family drama should dig deeper, uncovering the complexity of being human and trying to find one’s identity both as an individual and member of a family, but The Madison never gets out of first gear, choosing predictability over exploration. It’s unsurprising to see a big hook is the family all wanting to leave Montana as soon as they arrive, except for the one person who actually sees clarity and the forest through the trees.
The clichés carry over to the characterizations too. Pfeiffer carries the load as Stacy, putting in an emotionally charged performance as the matriarch of the family, but this character could have been pulled from countless other series, including those that Sheridan wrote. The same can be said about Preston and Stacy’s daughters and granddaughters. Tropes and archetypes exist for a reason, but when you’re creating prestige TV, you expect a little more than cookie-cutter characters who act and behave unoriginally.
The Madison Season 1 fails to do or say anything new in the family drama genre. It’s likely to find its audience, thanks to the big names attached to it and the stunning cinematography that captures the serenity and beauty of the setting; however, this is nothing more than an average and safe outing from Sheridan and Co. Having said that, the first part of Yellowstone didn’t exactly electrify either before picking up in subsequent seasons, so perhaps the same might happen here too.
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The Review
The Madison Season 1
The Madison Season 1 tries to be prestige TV, but it's far too predictable and plodding for its own good.
Review Breakdown
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Verdict
Wholeheartedly agree with your review. But I’m willing to give Part 2 Episodes 4-6 a try! That Montana scenery though – it’s is it’s own character! Yellowstone was brilliant too, & like you said a slow burn.