Plot details about the tragedy that changes the Clyburn family forever in The Madison have been kept under tight lock and key until the series premiere on Saturday, March 14. The Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell series, created by Yellowstone‘s Taylor Sheridan, was billed as a profound story of love and loss, and the trailer hinted that someone very important to Pfeiffer’s character died — but it wasn’t until the series premiere that viewers learned who.
Here, we’re breaking down The Madison‘s first three episodes. Warning: Major spoilers ahead!
Who dies in Taylor Sheridan’s The Madison?
The Madison is a profound love story channeled through a deeply personal family drama about resilience and transformation. Paramount+ calls it Sheridan’s most intimate work to date. It unfolds across two distinct worlds — the beautiful landscape of Montana and the vibrant energy of Manhattan — as it examines the ties that bind families together after an unexpected tragedy.
Russell and Pfeiffer play Preston and Stacy Clyburn, an incredibly wealthy couple who have been together since they were teens. Their love story is the inspirational center of their family, which consists of daughters Abby (Beau Garrett) and Paige (Elle Chapman), granddaughters Bridgett (Amiah Miller) and Macy (Alaina Pollack), and son-in-law Russell (Patrick J. Adams). The Manhattan-based Preston frequently visits his younger brother, Paul (Matthew Fox), at his home in the Madison River Valley in Montana. Preston owns the land where Paul lives, and there are three cabins for their family.
Stacy is a self-described “city mouse.” She has never visited Preston’s cabins in Montana in all his decades of going there, nor have their daughters or granddaughters. Stacy repeatedly says that she’ll visit when Preston adds indoor plumbing. She figured she would have time, but then tragedy struck.
Emerson Miller / Paramount+
In Episode 1, Preston extends his latest fishing trip by one more day so he can fish in a dream location with Paul. Paul is a licensed pilot with a small plane that he used to get them to that fishing ground. A storm hit, and the brothers left too late. The brothers died in a plane crash trying to make it out of the storm. Preston’s last word was “Stacy.”
The family left for Montana after learning the devastating news. After attending to the painful task of identifying Preston and Paul’s bodies, the family stayed in a hotel and tried to relax by watching Preston’s favorite movie, A River Runs Through It.
The film is directed by Robert Redford, to whom The Madison Episode 1 is dedicated (learn more about the dedication and Redford’s Yellowstone connection here). The film is set in Montana, and was one of the reasons Preston fell in love with the area — something that Redford’s films did for many viewers, including Sheridan himself and The Madison director and cinematographer Christina Alexandra Voros.
“I can’t speak to the decision that was entirely Taylor’s. What I will say is, anyone who sees the show will understand why it is a love letter in many ways to a world that Redford certainly introduced to me,” Voros told TV Insider of the Redford dedication. “His name as a tribute at the end of that episode feels like the absolutely appropriate move to make.”
The Madison Episodes 2 and 3 show the Clyburns trying to learn the lay of the land that Preston loved so much as a way to stay connected to him. The humor of the series comes from the city mice struggling with living on the land. As these first few days pass, Stacy reads Preston’s journal and learns about a side of her husband she never knew. Episodes 4–6 continue this exploration.
The Madison, Season 1 Part 2 (three episodes), Premieres Saturday, March 21, Paramount+
Commented