Michelle Pfeiffer was asked to take a major leap of faith when she accepted the lead role in Taylor Sheridan’s new series, The Madison, without being allowed to read the script first.
The Oscar and Emmy-nominated actor, 67, stars in the Yellowstone creator’s forthcoming series about a New York family relocating to the Madison River valley of central Montana.
“I committed to it without even having read anything,” Pfeiffer revealed to Entertainment Weekly at the show’s New York City premiere. “It was really just [Sheridan] explaining the scope of the character and kind of the outline of where it was going.”
Despite telling Sheridan that she would “really love to read something” before signing on, he explained that he preferred “to cast it first and then I write.”
“We went back and forth over a couple of weeks like that, and then I realized I wasn’t going to win this argument and I was either going to have to commit or give it up,” she explained.
Premiering Saturday on Paramount+, The Madison was originally expected to be a direct sequel to Yellowstone, but it is now being treated as a standalone series. Pfeiffer plays Stacy Clyburn, a grieving New Yorker who relocates her family to Montana. Kurt Russell, Beau Garrett, Patrick J. Adams, Matthew Fox, Elle Chapman, Alaina Pollack, Ben Schnetzer, Kevin Zegers, Rebecca Spence, Danielle Vasinova and Will Arnett also star.
Although it remains within the broader Yellowstone universe, the Western drama is said to be Sheridan’s “most intimate work to date,” according to a press release. The series is “a heartfelt study of grief and human connection” that “examines the ties that bind families together.”
Teasing the show in January, Russell explained to Entertainment Weekly: “I think that it’s a very different show for Taylor in that it’s a very female-gaze-oriented show. And I think it’s extremely well written, it was fun to play. It was really fun to do. I just had a good time.
“It’s a smart show,” Russell added. “He’s a really good writer — Taylor’s excellent, and Michelle’s great, and she's really great in this show. Talking about awards — I think they’re going to be looking Michelle’s way.”
The Madison is just the latest show from Sheridan. Its forthcoming release comes just weeks after the premiere of the TV creator’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 first three episodes of The Madison arrive Saturday on Paramount+, followed by the final three March 21.
