The Madison’s Title Explained & Where The Taylor Sheridan Show Takes Place

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Taylor Sheridan’s new Western series, The Madison, has a somewhat unusual title, particularly if you aren’t familiar with the American West. This is different from his other Westerns – Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Landman, and Marshals – which all have titles that are pretty straightforward.

Yellowstone National Park is world-renowned for its stunning scenery. The four shows that followed it, however, clearly indicate when they take place or what their main characters do. But The Madison, also by Taylor Sheridan, has a title that’s open to interpretation – it could refer to a president, a ship, or something else entirely.

Many places in the United States share this name, but one stands out as the destination for the main characters in The Madison. This location is particularly meaningful to Taylor Sheridan, as it connects to his previous work on television.

The Madison Is Set In The Madison River Valley Of Montana

Paramount Press

The show’s title refers to the Madison River, which runs through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and eventually flows into the Missouri River in Montana. The Clyburn family begins a new life in the valley alongside this river at the start of the series.

Interestingly, the first episode of The Madison honors actor Robert Redford, who enjoyed fly fishing as a hobby—a passion shared by the show’s character, Preston Clyburn. Redford also has a history with the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, as he was originally chosen to play John Dutton in Sheridan’s popular Western series, Yellowstone.

Similar to the Clyburn family, the Duttons live in southwestern Montana, near the Wyoming border. While the exact location of their ranch isn’t stated, it’s likely situated in the Madison Valley, given scenes showing fly-fishing in a quickly moving river.

Although Yellowstone is primarily filmed in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, this area isn’t actually part of Yellowstone National Park. Interestingly, the show’s setting appears to be very similar to the location used for The Madison.

Where The Madison Was Filmed

Kurt Russell, the star of the new show, has hinted that it will connect directly to both The Madison and Yellowstone. However, the first season wasn’t filmed in the same areas of Montana as Taylor Sheridan’s other Western TV series.

The majority of the film The Madison was shot on location near the actual Madison River. The Clyburn family’s house is portrayed by the KG Ranch, located in Gallatin County, Montana, near Three Forks (according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle). Gallatin County is best known as the area where the Madison and Missouri Rivers meet.

The Madison Setting Filming Location
The Clyburn house The KG Ranch, Gallatin County, Montana
Rural Montana Madison County, Montana
Urban Montana Ennis, Montana
New York exterior dialogue Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas
New York establishing shots New York, New York

Many scenes for the show were filmed in nearby Madison County. This includes the beautiful, wide-angle shots of the mountains near Yellowstone National Park, as well as town scenes filmed in Ennis. For example, the shop Sphinx Mountain Saddlery appears in one scene.

Despite being set in New York City, most of the filming actually happened in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Only a few wide shots of the real New York were used. All the scenes with the actors speaking their lines were shot in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to Cinemaholic.

The Madison’s Title Follows Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Format

Although The Madison isn’t directly connected as a spin-off of Yellowstone anymore, it still shares a similar style and structure. Both shows take place in the beautiful Montana countryside, near Yellowstone National Park, but they also have some important distinctions.

Both shows focus on families dealing with loss by dedicating themselves to the land they live on, specifically highlighting the landscapes of the American West. While the Clyburns in The Madison aren’t native Montanans like the Duttons in Yellowstone, both families often feel secondary to the powerful scenery around them.

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2026-03-16 16:39