Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence and language in mature Western melodrama.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Madison
What's the Story?
THE MADISON is a drama from the creator of Yellowstone. It centers on Stacy Clyburn (Michelle Pfeiffer), who lives in Manhattan with her successful husband, Preston (Kurt Russell), whom she considers to be the love of her life. Their eldest daughter, Abby (Beau Garrett), is the divorced mother of their granddaughters Bridgette (Amiah Miller) and Macy (Alaina Pollack) and can't seem to get her life together. Their youngest daughter, Paige (Elle Chapman), has been married to Russell McIntosh (Patrick J. Adams) for a little over a year and enjoys getting lots of attention. They're a close family with no plans to leave their comfortable urban lives. But when tragedy strikes Preston and his brother, Paul (Matthew Fox), while they're on a fishing trip at their cabin site in Montana's Madison River Valley, the family is left reeling. As Abby and Paige look for ways to cope with what's happened, Stacy tries to figure out how to move forward.
Is It Any Good?
This is an adult-oriented series about love, loss, and grief that's a more emotionally intense melodrama than viewers expect from Taylor Sheridan's style of contemporary Western storytelling. Told with the help of flashbacks, The Madison offers viewers enough backstory to help us understand Stacy's pain as she struggles to come to terms with the fact that the life she had with her husband is gone. It's both sad and romantic, but an effort is made to balance this out with some humorous moments to add some levity to an otherwise forlorn soap opera-like series. But The Madison also feels predictable at times; it looks and feels a lot like Robert Redford's film A River Runs Through It and also indulges tropes associated with the genre.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Montana. Does it look like the images shown on TV and movies?
How does The Madison portray people living in New York vs. people living in Montana? Are these representations based on stereotypes?
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 14, 2026
- Cast : Michelle Pfeiffer , Kurt Russell , Beau Garrett , Patrick J. Adams
- Network : Paramount+
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories ( Dads , Moms , Siblings ) , Friendship , Travel
- Character Strengths : Communication , Compassion , Courage , Perseverance , Self-control
- TV rating :
- Last updated : March 26, 2026
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate