Taylor Sheridan's New 'Yellowstone' Off-Shoot Is Already Disappointing Fans Before Release

2 weeks ago 11

Published Mar 9, 2026, 10:07 AM EDT

Chris is a Senior News Writer for Collider. He can be found in an IMAX screen, with his eyes watering and his ears bleeding for his own pleasure. He joined the news team in 2022 and accidentally fell upwards into a senior position despite his best efforts.

For reasons unknown, he enjoys analyzing box office receipts, giant sharks, and has become known as the go-to man for all things Bosch, Mission: Impossible and Christopher Nolan in Collider's news division. Recently, he found himself yeehawing along to the Dutton saga on the Yellowstone Ranch.

He is proficient in sarcasm, wit, Photoshop and working unfeasibly long hours. Amongst his passions sit the likes of the history of the Walt Disney Company, the construction of theme parks, steam trains and binge-watching Gilmore Girls with a coffee that is just hot enough to scald him.

His obsession with the Apple TV+ series Silo is the subject of mockery within the Senior News channel, where his feelings about Taylor Sheridan's work are enough to make his fellow writers roll their eyes.

Taylor Sheridan’s TV empire has trained viewers to expect sprawling seasons, slow-burn family conflict, and enough room for a Western saga to really breathe. That is a big part of why any new series even loosely tied to Yellowstone tends to arrive with a certain built-in expectation: big stars, big emotions, and a lot of episodes to sink into. That last part, at least, is not what The Madison is doing.

When The Madison premieres on March 14, 2026, it will do so with only six episodes in its entire first season, with the first three dropping on March 14 and the final three arriving on March 21. That makes it the shortest season yet for any show connected to the broader Yellowstone orbit. Whether this is because Paramount+ are unsure about it, or they want to get it out of the way is another question. However, a second season has already finished shooting, so there must be some faith in the show. Perhaps this is a way to get both seasons released in one year without feeling like overkill?

That is especially striking because Paramount is rolling it out at the same time as Marshals, which is taking the exact opposite route. The CBS series premiered on March 1, 2026, airs weekly on Sundays, and its first season runs 13 episodes, stretching all the way across the spring.

What makes the six-episode run feel especially abrupt is the franchise context around it. Yellowstone itself settled into 10-episode seasons for Seasons 2 through 4, 1883 also ran 10 episodes, while 1923 came in at 8 episodes for Season 1 and 7for Season 2. By comparison, The Madison is the most abbreviated season of the bunch.

What Is 'The Madison' About?

Created and written by Sheridan, The Madison stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell as Stacy and Preston Clyburn, a married couple from New York who relocate to Montana’s Madison River Valley after a family tragedy. Paramount+ and recent coverage describe the show as "a drama about grief, healing, and human connection", with the family trying to adapt to a totally different life in rural Montana.

The cast also includes Patrick J. Adams as Russell McIntosh, Elle Chapman as Paige McIntosh, Matthew Fox as Paul Clyburn, Beau Garrett as Abigail Reese, Amiah Miller as Bridgette Reese, Ben Schnetzer as Van Davis, Kevin Zegers as Cade Harris, Rebecca Spence as Liliana Weeks, Alaina Pollack as Macy, Danielle Vasinova as Kestrel Harris, and Will Arnettappearing as Dr. Phil Yorn.