Michelle Pfeiffer Is Officially Cast as the Lead in ‘Yellowstone’ Spinoff ‘The Madison’ After Rebrand
Yellowstone fans are finally getting some good news as Michelle Pfeiffer is announced as the lead of the upcoming spinoff The Madison.
Paramount Network announced on Thursday, August 8, that Oscar-winning actress Pfeiffer, 66, is starring in and is an executive producer on the show, which was formally titled 2024. The Madison is the first series in the Yellowstone franchise set in the present day, according to a synopsis for the network.
"A heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana," read the plot for the Western from creator Taylor Sheridan.
Pfeiffer's casting news comes after TVLine reported that she was set to play Stacy, a woman from Manhattan who moves to Montana after her husband and brother-in-law die in a plane crash. The outlet also said that Patrick J. Adams, Kurt Russell and Beau Garrett were close to closing their own deals to star in the series.
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Production on The Madison is set to begin in late August with filming taking place in Montana, New York and Texas. The spinoff would premiere in 2025 after Yellowstone officially wraps up with its fifth and final season.
The hugely popular Yellowstone, which premiered in 2018, introduced viewers to the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. While some viewers came for Kevin Costner's portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton — and stayed for the show's other leads including Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille – others were drawn to the dramatic story lines and surprising twists.
The drama didn't just stay on the screen, however. Yellowstone has famously faced some major obstacles behind the scenes. In February 2023, rumors initially surfaced about Costner's future on Yellowstone amid tension between him and Sheridan over the filming schedule. Season 5 dropped the first batch of episodes one month prior while the production on the second half was backed up.
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Costner, 69, for his part, previously denied that his ultimate exit from Yellowstone was due to a feud with Sheridan, 54.
“I have taken a beating from those f–king guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from,” he told Deadline in May. “I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did.”
Costner continued, “I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn’t have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10.”
Paramount originally ordered 2024 — which is now titled The Madison — with Matthew McConaughey set to star and Reilly, 47, Hauser, 49, and Luke Grimes potentially reprising their roles from Yellowstone. It now remains unclear what McConaughey's involvement is with the show or who he is playing.
The last episodes of Yellowstone are set to premiere on Paramount Sunday, November 10.
