Synopsis: A New York family’s life unravels after a tragedy; they process their grief while vacationing in rural Montana, where they explore human connection amid their profound sorrow.
What We Thought:
About ten minutes into The Madison: Season One I didn’t think I was going to like it. One character is instantly annoying and I couldn’t stand her. She represents everything I hate about the under 30 crowd today. Season One is only six episodes, but I thought I might struggle to even get through that many. I’m glad I continued with it though because fortunately the show is great with an absolutely incredible performance from Michelle Pfeifer. That character was awful the entire six episodes though.
Michelle Pfeiffer plays Stacy, the wife of Preston (Kurt Russell) and matriarch of the Clyburn family. They live in New York, are very much New Yorkers and are quite wealthy. They have two daughters, one of which is the one I hated from the get go. The older daughter is divorced with two daughters of her own. The daughter I hated is married to Patrick J. Adams of Suits fame. Preston is in Montana on a fishing adventure with his brother (Matthew Fox). A plane crash changes their lives in an instant and the Clyburn family go to Montana to deal with the death of loved ones.
On the surface it’s your classic fish-out-of-water storytelling. How can New Yorkers survive without the conveniences of city life? They can’t possibly fit into the lifestyle of a flyover state can they? And part of the show is that with them not having proper indoor plumbing, those around them using words that aren’t just politically incorrect, they are offensive, etc. But it’s also about grief, surviving, and love.
It pisses me off that Taylor Sheridan shows never get acting awards love because Michelle Pfeiffer has never been better. The show lives and breathes through her. She dominates every scene she’s in as you watch her adapt to the gorgeous scenery around her, dealing with the loss of the love of her life and realizing the poor job they did raising their daughters and granddaughters to be anything, but selfish, dependent New Yorkers. When she snaps at her granddaughters and their response to the food given to them by total strangers, I legit howled in laughter. Stacy is an elitist New Yorker coming to terms with the fact that she can no longer be an elitist New Yorker and her daughters might be worse than she is.
Like all Sheridan shows, it’s absolutely beautiful to look at. The river scenes with Russell and Fox fishing then with the family there are stunning. Sheridan’s neo-Westerns have all the long, sweeping shots of roads and backdrops I grew up on watching old westerns with my parents.
Only having six episodes for The Madison: Season One is smart. It gets into the grief quickly and backstory is told through flashbacks or narration by Kurt Russell. A love story with the older daughter is predictable and the younger daughter never grew on me. Honestly, the character is just terrible and makes Patrick J. Adams’ character a pushover. Besides Pfeiffer, the biggest surprise might be Will Arnett. I’m not the biggest fan of his, but in two episodes he’s fantastic. If Sheridan shows got Emmy love he would have landed a guest nomination because like Pfeiffer, he’s never been better. The season ends with how Season Two will most likely pick up and I can’t wait to see it.
