The Madison

Those seeking a fast-paced Western akin to Taylor Sheridan's previous offerings might prefer to fly over "The Madison," but those willing to wade through the show's slow-moving waters will come out the other side with few regrets — and an even deeper appreciation for Michelle Pfeiffer.

It’s marvellously escapist stuff.

It’s rock-solid, gripping television with multi-generational appeal.

It's slow, patient, and methodical, and it's very easy to see how viewers could prematurely slap "boring" on as a defining trait. However, this slow-burn pace is exactly what keeps The Madison an engaging watch.

“The Madison” moves at the snail’s pace of Sheridan’s “1923” — and the music score sometimes sounds nearly identical — but “The Madison” also borrows some of the humor that’s made Sheridan’s “Landman” a hit. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Stacy Clyburn isn’t as sarcastic and profane as Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris, but Stacy displays more backbone and bite than viewers might expect.

If you’re looking for a solid tearjerking catharsis, you might find it here.

If all this sounds hopelessly hokey — and there are stretches in "The Madison" where it irredeemably is — then you'll want to do something else with your Saturday night. Otherwise, there's beauty here, some nice performances and a welcome pivot away from the mayhem of "Yellowstone."

We were happy to take in the contemplative pace of The Madison as well as watching Pfeiffer’s performance. But we’re also concerned that Sheridan’s penchant for leaden dialogue and sketchy portrayals of female characters are going to ultimately drag this show down.

The Madison is likely to go down as an oddity in Sheridan's body of work — a smaller-scale show where he tried something different and got out of his comfort zone. (Who would have ever thought Sheridan would write something set in New York City?) But the thing about experiments is that they don't always work. And The Madison could have spent more time in the lab before being released into the wild.

It’s rare to see something on TV that’s a mix of Nicholas Sparks, A River Runs Through It, Virgin River, and Green Acres. But the shouting, the lectures, the insults? That’s all Sheridan.

Michelle Pfeiffer enters the Taylor Sheridan universe in stellar form even when he sinks her in a Montana vs Manhattan grudge match that’ll bore you breathless.

Essentially a grief-stricken version of Green Acres.

As it stands, I have no idea whether a second season will do away with the New York City stuff and become the show I’m actually curious to keep watching, or if it will continue to be one of the most whiplash-y shows I can remember.

In most respects, the TV mogul’s latest is the same as his prior New West offerings, full of two-dimensional types, clunky dilemmas, and absurd and old-hat urban vs. rural dynamics that were out of date 50 years ago.

It’s an altogether milder kettle of trout. It is, in essence, a Saga cruise in a Stetson; a languid meditation on retirement stuffed with cloying aphorisms and thuddingly simplistic depictions of grief.

Whether in Manhattan or Montana, both places seem to be fictional baloney. Pfeiffer, Russell and the cast do their best, but it’s a challenge to act believable in such an entirely rigged reality.

The show has interesting themes and a powerhouse performance from Michelle Pfeiffer. Unfortunately, it’s rather thin on story, relying more on stunning landscape shots and dramatic music than dynamic dialogue and narrative.

The Madison should be coursing with emotion, almost overwhelming in its strength and impact. Instead, the writing is just stagnant, awkward and predictable as it tries to wring out more emotion.

Purely as entertainment, it is inert; the story, about a family in mourning, features histrionics worthy of grand opera and a level of rudeness that could peel paint.

Even if you’re not triggered by Sheridan’s blatant provocations, “The Madison” is missing a story engine. The end of the pilot offers one option, then tries it out again at the end of Episode 2, and then abandons it for the rest of the season.