The acclaimed and award winning New Zealand drama MADAM, starring Rachel Griffiths and Danielle Cormack is set to premiere on the 9Network in 2025.
American Mackenzie (Mack) Leigh (Griffiths) lives in small-town New Zealand with her husband, Rob (Martin Henderson), and their two sons. However, when Mack discovers Rob has been seeing a sex worker, she’s not angry but surprisingly inspired.
With no money and no experience, Mack forges Rob’s signature on a home loan, leases a motel, and recruits an eclectic mix of mostly rookie sex workers for her own “feminist, ethical brothel.”
MADAM follows Mack’s journey as she juggles motherhood, running a brothel, and her own ideals through a lens of authenticity and humour. The series ultimately explores intimacy and our collective need for human connection.
American Mackenzie (Mack) Leigh lives a regular life in small-town New Zealand with her husband Rob and their two sons, Toby and Noam, after what was meant to be a brief visit swiftly became permanent once they discovered the country’s free healthcare system - an answered prayer for their disabled son, Toby.
When Mack discovers that Rob has been seeing a sex worker, it comes as a surprise to everyone, including herself, that rather than feeling angry, Mack’s unexpectedly inspired. After all, sex work is legal in New Zealand and their marriage has been lacking intimacy for years.
Always a renegade and a bit of an entrepreneur, Mack does her research and learns the only brothel in town, Shadows, is run by a douchebag named Dion. With no money and no experience, she sees an opportunity to fill an obvious gap in the market and decides to open her own “feminist, ethical brothel.” A brothel strictly run by women, for women.
Despite Rob’s furious objections, Mack pushes ahead with her new business venture. She forges his signature on a home loan, secures a motel lease, and recruits an eclectic swagger of mostly rookie sex workers, among them, Tui the sex worker her husband was seeing. What could possibly go wrong?
MADAM follows Mack’s journey as she juggles motherhood, running a brothel, and her own ideals through a lens of authenticity and humour; the series ultimately explores intimacy and our collective need for human connection.
THE WORLD’S OLDEST PROFESSION GETS A MODERN MAKEOVER IN MADAM
SERIES PREMIERE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 9.00PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
Madam , the comedic drama starring Rachel Griffiths and Danielle Cormack premieres Tuesday, February 4, at 9.00pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
Inspired by real events, this bold, 10-part series follows the turbulent life of Mackenzie “Mack” Leigh(Rachel Griffiths, Muriel’s Wedding, Six Feet Under), an American woman living in small-town New Zealand with her husband and their two sons.
What began as a visit to New Zealand turns into a permanent and rewarding stay for the family – until Mack uncovers a shocking secret: her husband Rob(Martin Henderson, Virgin River) has been seeing a prostitute. Despite the shock, Mack feels inspired by this revelation and decides to open a legal “feminist, ethical brothel” where women can revolutionise sex-for-sale by taking control of their lives, their work and their sexuality.
Over Rob’s objections, Mack goes ahead and recruits a colourful team of sex workers including Tui(Ariaña Osborne, Millie Lies Low), the woman Rob has been seeing. In the face of community outrage, Mack sets out to navigate the unique challenges and complexities of making a profit from operating a brothel that empowers the working girls, not their male clients, in a safe and new-style environment.
But the task grows increasingly difficult. And can Mack, the responsible new-age madam, solve the tensions between her family life and her controversial business?
The series also stars Quinn Ashton and Angus Stevens as Mack’s sons Toby and Noam, Rima Te Wiata(Sons and Daughters) and Robbie Magasiva(Wentworth).
Madam is based on the memoir by Antonia Murphy, scripted by Harry McNaughton and Shoshana McCallum, and directed by Kacie Anning and Madeleine Sami. It is a co-production between Tavake and XYZ Films in association with Fifth Season, commissioned by Warner Bros. Discovery and TV3 (New Zealand).
