- ‘The Madison’ premieres on March 14 on Paramount+.
- The series starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell is the latest release for Taylor Sheridan.
- In this exclusive interview, Patrick J. Adams and Elle Chapman give insight into the series.
Taylor Sheridan is arguably the most recognizable name in television. Synonymous with macho, gritty neo-Westerns, his name is essentially a neon-yellow label for viewers searching for hyper-masculine entertainment. Imagine viewers' surprise then, when his highly anticipated series, The Madison—originally slated as a modern-day Yellowstone spin-off—is the complete opposite: dramatic, emotional, serene, and shot from (for the most part) the female perspective.
Virtually every interview and critique of The Madison leading up to the premiere has mentioned just how intimate a departure the series is for Taylor. While this tidbit might deter some viewers, it’s the cast’s hope that the series will change the narrative and draw even more fans in. Just take it from Patrick J. Adams, who plays Russell McIntosh, Paige McIntosh’s (Elle Chapman) husband and Stacy and Preston Clyburn’s (Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell) son-in-law. As the sole male character in many of the series’ scenes, who better to ask about the experience of working on such a project than Patrick?
“Taylor's famous for creating some very, for lack of a better word, masculine television, and men [who] are of very traditional male strength and character—cowboys staring off into the sunset—which is great; phenomenal,” Patrick tells Country Living. But what drew him to the role of Russell was just how immersed he was in the female-forward family dynamic. “I was so interested and moved that he created a character in this world that was not that—[who] was brave still, because he's deciding to show up and try to be there for this family, but I think he’s made even more brave by the fact that he has no idea how to be there for this family, other than to put his body on the line, like, ‘I'm here; I don't know what to do, but I'm going to be here, and I'm going to do my best.’ And I think that's a different version of bravery than I've often seen.”
Of course, for Patrick, being in a family of women is nothing new. “I'm somebody who's been raised by women: I have two sisters; I have three daughters now, many aunts, and a mother [who’s] amazing and very strong-willed, and I have a lot of very powerful, amazing women in my life,” he shares. “But it is a particular kind of navigation to be the sole man in a lot of those rooms, and so there's something I relate to with Russell: It's a challenge [being the sole man amongst women], but if you rise to that occasion, it's really the greatest gift in the world, and I think you learn a lot about yourself in the process.”
Patrick wasn’t the only one to feel transformed by the experience of acting in a show shot from the female gaze—Elle was, too. “I think it's really special to work on a show that's depicting such an honest portrayal of female relationships,” she tells Country Living, raving about working alongside ever-supportive Michelle in the process. “I have a twin sister, I have a little sister, I have a very strong mother, who also encountered loss—we lost my dad when I was young, and I saw a lot of my mother’s state mirrored in Stacy's. And I think we were very lucky in that we all became very close as a cast early on, [which] just fed into what we were shooting; we're just such a support to each other.”
The Madison premiered with three episodes on Saturday, March 14, on Paramount+. The final three episodes of Season 1 drop on Saturday, March 21.
