The Madison, Taylor Sheridan’s latest western drama, has received lukewarm reviews as critics highlighted thin storylines, a simplistic depiction of grief and cartoonish presentations of life in New York.
The series, which was originally expected to be a direct sequel to Sheridan’s hit ranching show Yellowstone but is now being treated as a standalone series, stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Stacy Clyburn, a grieving New Yorker who relocates her family to the Madison River valley of central Montana after an unexpected death.
The Guardian’s Sarah Dempster awarded the series two stars, describing it as a “yawnsome homespun six-parter” that is stuffed “terrible jokes,” “cloying aphorisms” and “thuddingly simplistic depictions of grief.”
Writing for Variety, Aramide Tinubu highlighted Pfeiffer’s “powerhouse performance,” and credited her for holding up an otherwise “thin” storyline.
“When the plot shifts away from mourning, it begins to fray,” writes Tinubu. “It all feels much more trite than profound.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg highlighted that the show’s negative presentation of life in New York — versus the serenity of rural life in Montana — overpowered the show.
“The suppurating contempt Sheridan feels for the Big Apple oozes its way through much of the series, its condescending pus infecting stunning vistas, swelling musical compositions and at least one award-worthy performance, courtesy of Michelle Pfeiffer,” wrote Fienberg.
“Sheridan hates New York. He hates New Yorkers. He hates New York parents and he really hates New York children, though mostly because of what they’ve learned in New York schools and from New York parents,” the review continued.
The Wall Street Journal’s John Anderson echoed the same view that the show takes a “divisive, broad-strokes approach to its urban-rural conflict.”
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Anderson branded the series as “divisive propaganda” due to its denigration of city life versus the countryside.
“The gist — that only in the relatively untamed countryside do genuine humans exist — seems an unnecessary thing to base a show on,” writes Anderson. “And in our currently polarized country, the series isn’t just irritating and boring. It feels destructive.”
The show also stars Escape from New York’s Kurt Russell, Tron: Legacy actor Beau Garrett, Suits star Patrick J. Adams, Matthew Fox, Elle Chapman, Alaina Pollack, Ben Schnetzer, Kevin Zegers, Rebecca Spence, Danielle Vasinova and Will Arnett.
Its release comes just weeks after the premiere of Sheridan’s latest Yellowstone spinoff, The Marshals, starring Yellowstone alum Luke Grimes.
Yellowstone, which aired from 2018 to 2024, centered on the Duttons, a six-generation family of ranchers in Montana. The Kevin Costner-led series was a smash hit, consistently drawing massive viewership. Its fifth and final season premiere smashed records, drawing in 12.1 million viewers.
The Madison is streaming on Paramount+.
