The Madison means it’s time for another Western on Paramount+!
We get how this extended family has lost touch with reality, like lots of families, since when sat around a dinner table in a restaurant, almost all of them are stuck on their phones.
Stacy (Michelle Pfeiffer – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) and Preston Clyburn (Kurt Russell – Smurfs) have been married for almost 40 years, and while he and his brother, Paul (Matthew Fox – World War Z), go fly fishing – albeit without a JR Hartley guide book to hand, since Stacy has a hankering for the Madison Valley and the area around it, circumstances lead to her and various family members staying at a particular cabin out in the woods, which is a stranger to indoor toilets, but the dunny is sadly not a stranger to rats!
In fact, the place DOES have a luxurious bathroom, so WILL have a toilet, so why the hell are people going outside? For a bet?
A few random observations:
- For once in a modern drama, we actually see a naked FEMALE bottom before any male ones pop up!
- Characters have names like Spur, Kestrel and Spade… Pardon?!
- For once in a modern drama, we actually see a naked FEMALE bottom before any male ones pop up!
- I also get antsy when anyone walks around indoors while wearing outdoor shoes, so why the hell is Kurt Russell wearing shoes in the bathroom?!! EWWWW!!!
- Stacy asks her grandkids to “ninja up some Netflix on the TV” – for a programme on Paramount+?
Overall, The Madison looks great, and I really enjoy Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness and Landman, but how many more Westerns do we need? Plus, it doesn’t really bode well if three episodes are released one week, and the other three the next, as if they’re trying to just shove it out the door. The fact that the plot – such as it is – moves at a glacial pace.
I could be kind and say it’s a cosy soap opera, but… glacial pace, since, for the most part… Suddenly, nothing happened.
Thanks to our friends at Paramount+ for the screener prior to release.
The Madison is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Paramount+ from tomorrow.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 45-70 minutes per episode (6 episodes)
Release date: March 14th 2026
Studio: Paramount+
Format: 2.39:1
Director: Christina Alexandra Voros
Producer: Rajeev Malhotra
Writer/Creator: Taylor Sheridan
Music: Breton Vivian
Cast:
Stacy Clyburn: Michelle Pfeiffer
Preston Clyburn: Kurt Russell
Abigail Reese: Beau Garrett
Paige McIntosh: Elle Chapman
Russell McIntosh: Patrick J Adams
Bridgett Reese: Amiah Miller
Macy Reese: Alaina Pollack
Van Davis: Ben Schnetzer
Liliana Weeks: Rebecca Spence
Cade Harris: Kevin Zegers
Kestrel Harris: Danielle Vasinova
Paul Clyburn: Matthew Fox
Kayla Harris: Najiah Knight
Dallas Reese: Tanc Sade
Spur Lawton: Malcolm Villaverde
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.