'The Madison' and 5 shows that killed a major character early

Warning: Spoilers ahead! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched the first episode of “The Madison” on Paramount+. Taylor Sheridan’s new show pulled a “gotcha” on the audience: Kurt Russell appeared on the posters, yet his character, Preston, is killed in the pilot.

Michelle Pfeiffer stars; the six-episode family drama, now streaming on Paramount+ and renewed for Season 2, follows Stacy (Pfeiffer) and her adult daughters as they grieve Preston (Russell) and his brother Paul (Matthew Fox) after the two men die in a plane crash.

Other series have used the same move. In “Big Sky,” Ryan Phillippe was prominently featured but Cody Hoyt is shot in the first episode by state trooper Rick Legarski (John Carroll Lynch); Phillippe quipped that he now has to assure people he’ll be in more than one episode.

the madison, paramount+, taylor sheridan, kurt russell, michelle pfeiffer, matthew fox, plane crash, big sky, ryan phillippe, cody hoyt