As a seasoned gamer with years of experience navigating virtual worlds and real-life scenarios alike, I must say that the new series “Landman” has piqued my interest like never before. Growing up in the dusty plains of West Texas, I can attest to the raw, gritty charm that this show seems to embody so perfectly.
Nestled deep in the heart of Texas, one might envision cowboys, livestock, and rodeos. However, the fresh series titled “Landman,” co-created by Christian Wallace and showrunner Taylor Sheridan from “Yellowstone,” intends to spark thoughts about Texas oil and black gold with its new streaming content centered around the oil industry, featuring Billy Bob Thornton in a leading role.
According to Wallace’s “Boomtown” podcast, produced by Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly, the Paramount+ series delves into the vast oil industry of West Texas using a narrative style similar to Sheridan’s popular Paramount Network series, Yellowstone. In 2019, the podcast primarily focused on the Permian Basin region in West Texas.
Despite the oil fields, often referred to as “the patch,” yielding substantial quantities of product and offering lucrative wages to field workers, totaling hundreds of thousands annually, the community in West Texas endured high rental costs, overpopulated schools, and one of the riskiest occupations imaginable. Tragically, fatalities were, and continue to be, a frequent occurrence among patch workers.
In a recent chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Thornton outlined his character’s position within the story. He portrays Tommy Norris, an executive and problem solver for the imaginary oil corporation appearing in the series, which is helmed by his wealthy tycoon boss, Monty Miller (played by Jon Hamm).
Thornton concurred, acknowledging that his role was indeed that of a fixer. He explained, “A landman is essentially someone who acquires leases for the land and oversees the teams working on them. He’s also responsible for ensuring profitability for his oil company owner. So, ‘fixer’ is a fitting description. It’s a significant role with a lot of responsibility, involving plenty of time behind the wheel, trips to oil fields, and meetings with your boss in his mansion. In many ways, it’s like being an elevated foreman.
In the gripping opening scene of the first episode, I found myself captivated by the character of Norris, who’s bound and blindfolded in a secluded shed. The signs of his brutal treatment were evident. As the narrative unfolds, we learn that Norris is there to broker land rights with a drug cartel, aiming to let them traffic drugs through private roads over valuable oil fields. The intricate relationships between cartels and oil companies took me aback initially, but I soon realized such circumstances aren’t as uncommon as they may seem.
Tommy encounters various individuals who work closely together, according to Thornton’s explanation. “Cattle ranchers and oil producers each have their own spheres.” However, dealing with them might be less complicated because it’s primarily a business matter, where disagreements can occasionally occur but are usually resolved through negotiation.
He went on to say, “However, dealing with the cartel presents a unique situation due to the risks involved. Something I discovered only as this work progressed was that these cartels can sometimes exploit land in unusual ways. It’s almost like an uneasy alliance. It’s as if they say, ‘We share this space. I don’t belong in your realm; you don’t belong in mine. So, you do your part and we’ll do ours, but keep clear of each other’s territories.’
Wallace, who helped create “Landman,” doesn’t view his narrative as a direct continuation of “Yellowstone,” but rather sees it as belonging to the broader storytelling universe created by Sheridan. Meanwhile, “Yellowstone,” the top-rated TV series, is continuing with its season 5B on Sundays, marking the final season for the flagship series; however, discussions about a potential sixth season and multiple spinoffs are ongoing.
Wallace shared with THR that he hasn’t watched the final season of ‘Yellowstone’, but he believes it suits Landman’s world. He thinks it’s separate from the original story, yet consistent within its universe. In the world Taylor has built, it seems fitting.
Indeed, Landman first tuned into Wallace’s podcast, but it took a few years for the project to be set in motion, as he clarified.
Wallace mentioned that the rights for the 2019 podcast were obtained by Taylor and his associates towards the end of 2020. Since then, it’s been two years of discussions with Taylor regarding the story and characters; add in two strikes and a pandemic, among other things. Now, five years have passed, and we find ourselves discussing Landman.
In addition to Thornton and Hamm, Landman’s cast features Demi Moore, Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, and Jacob Lofland. Notably, Andy Garcia and Michael Peña are set to make guest appearances.
Wallace stated, “From the beginning, the crucial piece for Taylor was having Billy Bob portray Tommy Norris, our lead character. This decision set off a chain reaction, leading to everything else that followed. The casting process was enjoyable, as it featured a talented group of actors.
More recently, Thornton discussed how Sheridan presented the Landman project to him after his appearance in Yellowstone’s prequel, 1883. Earlier, Thornton mentioned to THR that they had stayed connected, and when he attended the series premiere, they dined together afterwards where Sheridan shared, “I’m working on a show for you called Landman. I’ll write it in your style, set within the world of the oil industry, and this is the type of character it involves.” Upon reading the first script, Thornton exclaimed, “It seems he truly wrote it in my style!” (Laughs).
Despite no discussions about future seasons as of now, Thornton expresses his belief that the series could continue for a long time without any apparent reasons to the contrary.
Originally, Thornton mentioned only discussing this current season, but our plan had been for it to be ongoing, with the potential for it to continue. Let’s hope that’s how it turns out. We’ll find out soon enough.
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Landman releases new episodes Sundays on Paramount+.
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2024-11-19 21:55