Amid the sprawling hills and lush natural beauty of Montana, it would be easy for the cast of The Madison, led by Michelle Pfeiffer, to feel small. The region, abundant in wildlife and crystal-clear lakes, is an environment so rich that, within the first few minutes of watching the new drama, you are entirely absorbed by it. For the cast of the series, created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), it was an experience just as immersive as it looks – the crew spent months filming in the vast region, as well as in Texas.
But, even on location, there are moments that feel like home. In the emotional drama, Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer plays Stacy Clyburn, the matriarch of a wealthy New York City family. But (SPOILER ALERT!), when unexpected tragedy strikes and her husband, Preston (Kurt Russell), is killed in a plane crash near their cabin in Montana, she finds herself in the Madison River Valley, grappling with unbearable grief.
Check out the trailer below:
Michelle Pfeiffer’s tale of grief
Michelle’s scenes are heart-rending to watch, as she drifts between feelings of despair and stoic determination to be there for her two daughters – played by Elle Chapman and Beau Garrett – and granddaughters, who have joined her at the family cabin.
Without spoilers, Michelle, 67, jokingly admits to TV WEEK that she tried to get a certain scene cut from the drama. “That’s how afraid I was of it,” she says with a laugh. But it’s her guttural reactions that fuse the storyline (and, perhaps, this writer thinks, could bring on a well-deserved Emmy nomination).
“You just try to personalise it as much as you can,” Michelle says on the portrayal of grief. “But then you’re just praying to the acting gods. You show up and be in the moment.”
More impressively is that, at the time of filming these scenes, she wasn’t even aware of who would be playing her on-screen husband. Kurt Russell was in the middle of filming another production and delayed. While she hoped and envisioned it would be him standing next to her, that could have changed at any time. The duo had no time to rehearse or prepare – not that you’d ever know it.
“Zero conversations were had [about their characters],” Michelle says with a laugh. “I was shooting my side not knowing who Preston would be, hoping it would be Kurt, but he was being difficult!”
“I was working on another show!” Kurt, 74, counters with a laugh. “It was difficult, we had to do it separately, but we were reading what Taylor wrote and, I think, having lived the lives we have since we worked together 37 years ago, it was easy to see each other [in the roles].”
Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell’s ranch reunion
In Hollywood, ‘37 years ago’ can feel like yesterday as cinema lives on forever. Kurt and Michelle first starred together in the 1988 thriller Tequila Sunrise and, in their reunion project, it was as if no time had passed.
“Of course, it helped to have that history together – and Kurt is the best,” Michelle says.
The Madison is the first of Taylor Sheridan’s series to be led from a female perspective, in Michelle’s seasoned hands, it’s a smash hit. But the actress knew nothing about the show when it was pitched to her.
“That was my only hesitancy,” she says. “He likes people to commit without reading anything which takes a huge leap of faith. So I went to meet him, spent an evening with himself and his wife and he talked me through it. I was excited – the idea of what used to scare me about television appealed to me.”
Patrick J. Adam’s big brother role with Elle Chapman
In the series, the reference to the family as ‘city mice’ is never more suitable than for Paige (Elle Chapman), Stacy’s spoilt younger daughter and her husband, Russell, whose fish-out-of-water experience in the rustic region provides a release valve for the audience.
“People are processing heavy stuff, so it was a gift to be characters who are dealing with that but also, by virtue of who they are and how uncomfortable they are, can bring some levity to the situation,” says Suits star Patrick J. Adams, who plays Russell.
“In real life we are quite true to our characters,” adds Elle, 25. “I’m new to all of this and Patrick takes care of me.”
“But what’s fun about that dynamic is that behind the scenes, Elle is, like, how does this work? And then, on ‘action’, she’s running the show and I must do whatever she says,” laughs Patrick, 44. “It was a lot of fun!”
True to their characters, Patrick and Elle didn’t get too comfortable in Montana – Patrick had a particularly hairy encounter with the wildlife.
“Beau told me about this hike, and I didn’t want to go alone. I was sure I was going to see a bear,” Patrick explains. “But they all said, ‘No, you’ll be fine!’ So I went and, on my way down from Lava Lake, there was a bear right in front of me. Luckily, I had bear spray.”
“I told him not to go on the hike without bear spray!” Beau Garrett, who plays Abigail,, 43, adds with a laugh. “But it’s such a wide-open space in Montana… There’s nowhere to go and everywhere to go, which is kind of a theme of the show.”
As elder daughter Abigail, Beau played a lot of her scenes with Michelle.
Beau Garrett on acting alongside Michelle Pfeiffer
“When I got this role, Taylor said to me: ‘Get ready, because you’re going head-to-head with Michelle and you better show up!’ And I did, because she is so good!” Beau says. “In our first scene together, we were fighting and we had to go all in. We had a great dynamic.”
Matthew Fox, 59, who plays Preston’s brother, Paul, says having scenes with Kurt was a drawcard for him to sign on. They had worked together previously on Bone Tomahawk in 2015.
“We have a lot in common,” the Lost star says of his co-star. “We’re both pilots, passionate about fishing – and this thing with fly fishing on the Madison being the source of connection between the two brothers was beautiful to me.
“In some ways, it’s very much my life. I grew up in Wyoming and I have two brothers. My father put fly rods in our hands when we were young and, still to this day, it’s our way of feeling connected to each other.”
The Madison marks another step in Matthew’s return to the industry after he began a seven-year hiatus in 2015. It was, in fact, the Australian production C*A*U*G*H*T that drew him back to acting – and now he’s itching to see what’s next.
“Shout out to my good friend [director and actor] Kick Gurry because it was a spectacular experience,” he says. “It really was [what brought him back to acting]. Both these shows have been amazing in very different ways and I’m excited to look for potentially something new down the road.”
As for the road ahead for The Madison, a second season is already on the cards and, while they remained tight-lipped about what’s to come, Kurt was able to share some news.
“Michelle and I are actually in the room together a lot at the same time,” he says with a wide smile of filming the next season. “And, I have to say, that was a lot more fun!”
The Madison is available now on Paramount+
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Share this post