By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Ever since Taylor Sheridan introduced the world to the Dutton family of Yellowstone, he’s been on a hot streak with Jeremy Renner’s Mayor of Kingstown, Zoe Saldana’s Lioness, and Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King, but his latest show might be his best one yet. Landman, revels in the dirt and muck of the oil business in Texas, from roughnecks to cartels, and one very unique negotiator. The opening minutes of the first episode show how Tommy Norris is built differently since he’s conducting a negotiation with the cartel after they kidnapped him, with his hands bound, covered in a burlap sack, and yet, he’s the most dangerous man in the room.
The Bravado Of Tommy Norris
For the first four minutes of Landman, Tommy, played by Billy Bob Thornton’s immediately recognizable drawl even under the burlap sack, is explaining to the cartel how the oil company he works for is not the type of people to piss off. Restrained and surrounded, he lets them know that if anything happens to the company’s property, not only will a fleet of drones blow their homes off the map, but they’ll set up a DEA office across the street. The intricacies of a service lease are explained, the deal, which boils down to “don’t mess with us, we don’t mess with you,” gets signed, and then, finally, Tommy is freed and let go.
It’s a gutsy sequence to start a series with, becoming one of the best abduction/kidnapping scenes (or, as it turns out, a negotiation) thanks to Billy Bob Thronton’s confident line delivery, getting across that Tommy has this situation under control, all without ever letting us see his face. The threats are bombastic and grandiose, but as it turns out, that lays the groundwork for the rest of Landman. In true Taylor Sheridan fashion, while Tommy is supremely confident in his abilities and not the type of man anyone wants as an enemy, it’s when he’s finally cut free that he takes out a cigarette, and we see his beat up, haggard face and haunted eyes, that makes you question how much of his bravado is a carefully constructed charade.
A Cast That’s Rough Around The Edges
The rest of the cast of Landman is filled with equally strong personalities, including the rest of the Norris family, including Tommy’s ex Angela (Ali Larter), his son starting a career out on the oil field, Cooper (Jacob Loflund), and his headstrong, abrasive daughter, Ainsley (played by Michelle Randolph, teaming with Sheridan again after appearing in 1923). Besides Thornton, other big names appear, including Michael Pena as an oil crewman, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore as a power couple of Texas Oil, and Andy Garcia makes an appearance in the type of role he was born to play.
Only five episodes of Landman have aired to date on Paramount+, so we’re still learning the dark secrets of the oil industry and the poor souls it crushes in the name of profit, but if you wish the Duttons were a little more rough around the edges, the new characters of Sheridan’s West Texas are perfect for you.
Landman Nominated For a Golden Globe
Beyond the darkly humourous opening sequence, the show has a few other fun scenes early on, including one involving a drug-running plane, that includes twists you won’t see coming. Since this is West Texas, Billy Bob Thronton gets to be involved with the Dillon Panthers again, a fun nod to his starring role in the movie Friday Night Lights. While it’s not a true comedy, Landman embraces the soap opera roots of shows like Dallas and Dynasty, but at least here, all the wild events are grounded by the exasperated Tommy at the center of the whirlwind.
Billy Bob Thronton was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance as Tommy Norris, despite the fact that Landman’s first season is only halfway over. If you want to fill the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul void in your viewing, there’s nothing better on the air right now. Once you’re caught up, you can also listen to the podcast Boomtown, which the series is based on.
You can stream the first season of Landman on Paramount+.
