Kurt Russell giving fans some more insight on what to expect when The Madison releases on March 14 on Paramount+.
The latest show from Taylor Sheridan is expected to be some of Yellowstone creator’s most intimate work, and will tell a story that explores grief and human connection. As far as plot is concerned, the series revolves around the titular character of Stacy Clyburn, a wealthy matriarch who upends her life in New York City to move her and her family to Montana following a plane crash that kills her husband and brother-in-law.
The series stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell as the leads, though it’s unclear how much time they’ll actually share on screen. The timing of the addition of Russell to the cast led many to believe that he was only joining for Season 2, but it later became clear that he’ll be included in both Season 1 and 2… mainly in flashbacks.
That played into Seasons 1 and 2 being shot back-to-back without a single episode airing (yeah, there are technically two seasons of The Madison ready to go).
As for what fans can expect out of the Taylor Sheridan show (that is NOT a Yellowstone spinoff), Kurt Russell previously said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the series is “very smart” and a bit different than what Sheridan has done in the past. And the 74-year-old actor was very impressed by the work of his co-star, Michelle Pfeiffer, in The Madison:
“I really like what ‘The Madison’ is. It’s a smart show. 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. Writing is so compelling. And 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.”
For those wondering what “female-gaze-oriented” means, Russell was just saying that it’s a female-driven story that women should be able to connect with more than other Sheridan shows, which tend to be in the “male gaze” category (if we’re continuing in the speak of Kurt Russell). And that’s not to say that men can’t enjoy it, but it sounds like we’re gonna get a lot more emotion and a lot less action in this new series.
Russell doubled down on those viewpoints earlier today while speaking with CBS Mornings. The actor once again dropped “female gaze” into his conversation about the upcoming show, and admitted that he himself had a lot of trouble reading through some of the scripts without crying:
“The way I look at it, and it makes no sense at all, is that it’s Taylor Sheridan’s female gaze, which is a very different gaze than most people who do female gaze. I just love the women in this. I love the men in it. When you read it, for me, it was so familiar somehow and relatable.
I related to it. You know, (I’ve been) in a long-term relationship, honestly in love. I could barely get through it. I’d get through half the script and I’d start (cry) and say, ‘I’ve got to put this down for a second.’ It was terrible, and I did it every show. But it was also crying through laughter. Taylor Sheridan just did a masterful job.”
